When the Colours Fade
by imagine.believe
Summary: Sequel of 'Colours of Our Hair'. After twelve years of marriage, Neil and Reine fell out of love; or that's how it seems to be for Reine, who eventually asks for a divorce. However, tragedy soon struck the Forresters and Reine is forced to revisit the chapters of their lives together, prompting her to think what it is that she really wants and what matters the most for her.
1. Another Twelve Years

_Hey guys! This story came out as a sudden inspiration when I was thinking of what happened after Neil and Reine are married. I hope you will like this story to although the starting point seem to be... well, I'll let you fill the blank on your own._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon and all the characters in this story besides Reine Forrester née Kreiss. The song below is not mine as well. Oh the plot is mine. Hahaha. Anyway... without further ado_

_When the Colours Fade_

* * *

_Written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain_

_I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days_

_She told me in the morning she don't feel the same about us in her bones_

_Seems to me that when I die these words will be written on my stone_

_Written in these walls are the colours that I can't change…_

(One Direction-Story of My Life)

"I want a divorce."

The sentence came out from her mouth when he drove her to her workplace, their alma mater, the place where they had first met. If there was anything for Reine Forrester, she felt there were nowhere else she would do it.

"Oh," was his only response.

Reine was not surprised by his flat reaction. In that respect, he had never changed.

He pressed the brake, stopping the car smoothly in front of the school gate. It was a sign for her to get out. Reine took her bag and stepped outside. There was no more word between them.

It wasn't an arbitrary request on her part: After their tenth anniversary, two years ago, Reine felt she was fed up with how her life had been. Mind you, she took pride in being Neil Forrester's wife, a mother of two lovely children, a teacher of her own favourite subject (despite the handful students) and the coordinator of her past club… she would ask for nothing more but a bit of affection from Neil.

She knew Neil was almost a different species from Allen Rosencrantz, her brother-in-law, who until now still bought Gwen bouquets of roses in random occasion, as well as Rod Braxton who would bake Yuri's favourite cookies (with small chance of succeeding, but it's the thoughts that counted). Neil was… different. He still wore his wedding band faithfully, and he remembered the important dates in the family, but he never, ever, in the course of their marriage said those three words:

I love you.

She still remembered what they had sworn to each other on their wedding day.

_I will not forget that I love you._

_I will trust you._

Whatever they had gone through when they had just started dating was good enough proof for her of his affection to her. And in those times, he still bothered those small little things such as holding her hands, telling her he didn't mind of the way she dressed, or just as he had sung to her once: he made her feel wanted.

But, after more than a decade of marriage, they were gone into thin air. They had turned from lovers to housemates; and as much as her efforts to keep it going, she was acutely aware that slowly their marriage had turned from one of love into one of duty.

People changed. And sometimes, they changed into someone else so different that they became barely recognisable; and that's what happened to the Forresters, or at least that's how it seemed to Reine. While she might be able to predict what Neil would say and do in a given situation, or the way he loved his coffee to be made, or the way he would hugged his bolster every night (it used to be her, but after Keith was born somehow the bolster replaced her), she had no idea of what he might feel towards her now, if there's anything left in his heart for her.

Even his flat reply to her request seemed to reinforce her beliefs.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Please share your thoughts ^^_


	2. A Rare, Unexpected Visit

_Hey guys, thank you for your reviews! I'm so glad to read it!_

_To kinicia: I honestly am considering between a few possible endings. I'll decide when the time comes._

* * *

Neil had drastically changed since last year. He came home much later than usual, often missing dinner with the family that caused little Kate, who had a kind of hero worship to her father, refused to touch her veggies. Initially Reine tried to talk to Neil about this.

"You know how she is," she said. "At least come home for dinner."

He had said nothing then. And nothing changed.

Reine kept trying, but he always changed the conversation to something as petty as, "Where did I put my keys?" (he put it in the usual drawer an hour ago) or "Is there any training tomorrow?" (the training days had never changed for at least goddamn twenty years)

It was as if he avoided any kind of talk about his children. Or for that matter, the family. That was another reason she wasn't that surprised by his reaction of her request.

* * *

Neil handed over the medical records of the last pet he had examined to his assistant. "Anymore?" he asked.

"That should be all for today,"

He nodded slightly, "You may go."

Neil threw himself back on his chair, his head felt like being hammered into pieces. It was a sensation he had grown accustomed to since six months ago. Actually, it had begun since last year as his usual headaches, but they gradually intensified until they became the way they were now. In the midst of those hammerings, her words yesterday echoed in his mind again:

_I want a divorce._

He wasn't surprised. In fact, he was waiting for her to drop the bomb, knowing the kind of person she was. It actually made things a lot easier for both of them.

The door to his office was opened. It was Selena, the girl who had replaced his previous assistant who moved out from the town last year. "Dr Forrester,"

Neil never failed in noting how different her husky, rich voice as compared to Reine's more light-hearted and upbeat voice that didn't change throughout the years.

Due to the increasing amount of time he spent with Selena in the clinic, he often found himself comparing a lot of things between the two women, especially when they were alone like this: her voluptuous figure against Reine's well-toned body, her smooth sun-kissed skin against Reine's fair complexion where faint wrinkles began to form, her blazing brownish eyes against Reine's fierce green, and of course her rich medium auburn hair against Reine's uniquely pink that hadn't shown any sign of turning white.

"What's your business?"

She walked over to his desk. "I was wondering if you could come over to my place this time,"

She leaned in, and if only Neil didn't tilt his head upwards to meet her burning gaze, his eyes would be on the same level with her breasts, which were accentuated by a pair of lacy bra she didn't bother to completely cover with her low-cutting blouse.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Selena immediately stood up and turned around, to find Reine standing on the threshold, her arms crossed in front of her. This time, Neil was surprised; Reine rarely went to the clinic simply because her teaching schedule would hold her back late enough that she needed to immediately go home to prepare for dinner. Even if she were able to leave earlier, she would use that time to take care of Keith and Kate, or do some groceries shopping.

"And who are you?" Selena asked, her tone slightly higher than usual. "Can't you see that the clinic is closed?"

Reine raised her left eyebrow cynically. If there was anything that changed in Reine throughout these years, it was her composure: while in her teenage years she wouldn't hesitate to swing her legs at anyone who insulted or offended her, now she had a better control of her temper, although for Neil it wasn't that much of a difference.

Reine's eyes shifted to Neil, who remained in his seat. The moment their eyes met, Neil preferred to look away. Reine noted this, and she shifted her eyes back to the younger girl. "I am Reine Forrester," she said with a carefully maintained tone. "I'm Dr Forrester's wife, if you can't infer that for your own. And I haven't heard a new rule that said I have to abide by clinic hours to visit my husband for personal reasons, thank you very much."

If Selena was surprised, she had concealed it perfectly. She smirked as she studied the figure of Reine Forrester, taking pride in the fact that her younger figure would surely be more… attractive. She then sashayed out from the room, but not before turning back to Neil and said, "I'm waiting for your answer."

Reine stepped forward and Selena closed the door behind her. There was a silence between them. Reine knew Neil wouldn't budge from his place.

"Is that so, Neil?" she asked, not bothering to hide the signs of her breaking. "Am I on the right track?"

Neil sighed long and, still averting his eyes away from Reine, he said, "I never said your asking for a divorce was wrong, did I?"

* * *

_Do you think that Neil is having an affair with the younger Selena?_

_Stay tuned to find out!_


	3. Being Faithful

_Thank you for the reviews and I hope I don't disappoint all of you! ^^_

* * *

"So, as we can see, at this point of the play Othello had lost his trust to Desdemona's faithfulness."

One hand was raised. Reine smiled and asked, "Yes?"

"Don't you think it's so sad, Mrs Forrester?"

"Why?"

"Othello should've put more faith in Desdemona, since she's his wife." The student argued, "Iago is only his… officer, right?"

"That's one way to look at it," she admitted. "But, I believe Othello actually lost faith in himself, that Desdemona found him attractive, then he becomes insecure since Desdemona is considered attractive by many."

Her mind flew to Selena, who was still in her prime. A pang of bitterness hit her heart.

"But, Desdemona had picked him! He should've seen it!"

One thing she had learned once she studied literature in greater depth, although literary works presented the grey areas of reality, it would never be the same with reality. Characters in books were tools; symbols of one thing, while a real human can symbolise many things simultaneously.

If keeping faith in those books were already hard, how harder it would be when it came into real human, with flesh and deeper passion?

And, in her case, it wasn't anyone telling her: she saw them.

* * *

Reine had hardened her resolve. She had told Gwen about her plan through the phone, and her twin sister had said nothing of it. Not that she cared; she would go through with her plan. Neil had agreed to only use one lawyer since he wouldn't contest the divorce (and to keep things as simple as possible). She walked into the law firm Felicity (who had no idea what was actually going on) had recommended her. After giving a brief outline of her situation to the front desk officer, she was ushered into a small room with a man in his early forties in it. His hair was the colour of snow, and his skin almost as fair. The nameplate on his desk read: Mikhail Calleigh.

"Please take a seat," He smiled professionally. "How may I help you?"

I did as he asked and told him, "I want a divorce from my husband. And we agreed to only employ a lawyer." She produced a letter from her purse.

Mikhail Calleigh took the letter and read the content. It was just like she said: the husband had agreed to the divorce and wished to employ the same lawyer for the matter.

It seemed to Calleigh that this would be a short, smooth case.

"Are you living separately now, Mrs Forrester?"

"No, we're still living together."

"Have you thought this through?"

"Yes."

"An affair?"

Her mind flew to the young assistant. She could see pretty well that she was flirting with Neil, but she also knew that didn't mean they did have an affair.

_I never said your asking for a divorce was wrong._

_What did he mean by that?_ She asked inwardly.

"Mrs Forrester?"

The lawyer's soft voice jolted her back. "Yes, I beg your pardon?"

"Does your husband have an affair?"

She then remembered about Othello, who only realised the truth too late. His regrets were deep enough to drive him, a proud man, to commit suicide.

* * *

"So, is she the reason why you always reject my invitations to come over?" Selena asked once they were alone in the room after the last patient was gone.

"Yes."

"So the ring on your finger wasn't fake?"

Neil didn't bother to reply the silly question.

"She's old." Selena said.

Neil kept quiet.

"Do you still find her attractive?"

He still ignored Selena, and this ticked her off. Selena found her superior intriguing, and honestly still attractive although he was already forty years old. She especially liked his golden hair, although his cold demeanour could be a turn off. Just like this time round.

"What is it in her that keep you on a leash like a dog, for goodness' sake?!" she eventually asked, "She's cynical, annoying and old!"

Neil closed the folder he was previously reading and stared into Selena's eyes. "We'd dated since high school, and we've been married for twelve years. Do you know what does that mean?"

"Boredom?"

"No." He said, "It's being faithful."

* * *

At the end of their conversation, Calleigh told Reine she should look for documents concerning their marital property. So, once she got back home, she began to look for it.

As she rummaged through the papers, she saw an unfamiliar A4-sized envelope was tucked in among other documents. Out of curiosity, she took it and once she saw Neil's name written on it, she felt an urge to open it.

Her eyes widened once she read the content, and without thinking of anything else, she took her purse and bolted out. "Keith, take care of the house while I'm gone!" she said before she went out.

"Okay, Mom!"

She took the bus to Neil's workplace. The front desk officers greeted her warmly, "Good afternoon, Mrs Forrester. Looking for your husband?"

"Yes," she said, "Is he… available?"

"Yes, he should be. The last patient had just left moments ago."

Reine immediately walked to his office, and when she opened the door, she saw the young woman from last time, her face looked upset over something Reine wouldn't give a damn about.

"I need to talk." She demanded.

Neil faced the young woman, "If there's no more question from you, you may leave."

Selena looked like she wanted to protest, but she eventually left the room, almost slamming the door behind her. Reine couldn't care less about what they might have talked about previously.

Maybe she didn't want to know about it anyway.

"What is it, Reine?" he asked, "You often come by lately."

Reine walked to his desk and threw the envelope to the glass surface of his neatly arranged desk. "What is this, Neil Forrester?"

Neil seemed to be at loss of words initially, but he eventually replied, "It is what it is."

"Why do you never tell me?" Reine asked, "Who am I to you?"

Neil silently took the check-up results that had captured the image of a tumour in his brain. Further examinations had revealed to him that it was malignant, and at best he would live up to five more years. He could undergo a surgery if he wanted to, with the survival rate of 20%.

He had thought she shouldn't have known that.

"Why do you have to care so much?" he asked bitterly, "I thought I'm going to be your ex soon."

That was her undoing. Her tears broke through her resolve not to cry.

In this very clinic, around twenty years ago, Pochi—his dog that she had formed an attachment to—was diagnosed with cancer that eventually led to its death. When she first heard the news, she broke down into tears as well. Just like now.

It was as if it happened all over again, just with different subjects.

"Why, Neil…?" she asked in the midst of her tears, "Why…?"

Just like when Reine had suspected him of having an affair, Neil avoided her eyes; he just couldn't look at how he had damaged the best thing that ever came into his life.

He clenched his fist.

_Damn it._

* * *

_So, with Neil's real secret came out to the surface, what would Reine do?_

_What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading! Please kindly give your reviews, and thanks in advance! ^^_


	4. Keith and Kate

_Thank you for the review! And as per some demands, here's the next chapter! I hope this won't be disappointing! ^^_

* * *

It wasn't the first time Mikhail Calleigh had seen Reine Forrester. In fact, he had noticed her quite often in the supermarket both of them seemed to frequent for groceries shopping, mainly due to her soft pink hair that cascaded to her back smoothly.

Another reason for him noticing her was her smile; she smiled to almost everyone. She smiled to the cleaner, the employee restocking the items, the cashier attendant, she smiled to almost everyone she met.

Actually he had wanted to approach her, but when he saw the wedding band around her finger, he held himself back and wondering what kind of man who had won her heart. He was sure that man was a lucky person.

When Reine Forrester came into his office, he thought it was fate. As he was given that opportunity to study her closer, he delighted in the way her clear voice sounded like a melodious tune in his ears, delighted in the easy confident grace she carried herself with, delighted in the way her green eyes stared right at him.

So, when she told him that she was getting a divorce, he was unsure how to react, so he used his professionalism as he always would. She handed him a letter, and he read it. It was clear that the divorce was a mutual agreement.

_Neil Forrester_.

He wondered what kind of a fool Neil Forrester was.

* * *

Reine pored through the essays her student had written in class while waiting for the training to begin. After years being a teacher in Literature in English, she had learned the way to decipher rushed scribbles in hundreds of scripts she had to mark. She wouldn't usually do her work during club time, but mid-term exam was coming soon and she would want to give the feedback as soon as possible to her students.

"Hey, Reine!" Rod greeted her as he walked in, already in his karategi.

She smiled, "Oh, hey Rod."

"Marking?"

"Yeah, as you can see."

A few students came in and changed into their karategi soon enough, and then Keith showed up. Rod waved his hand to the boy, "Hey, you wanna practice together today?"

"Yeah!"

Sometimes Keith indeed went over after school during training days to train or just to beg for his mother to let him push the trolley while she was shopping groceries later.

But, today there was a difference. He had brought along his little sister, who was hiding nervously behind his back. Rod noticed the small pink head and came over, "Hey, Kate."

Kate retreated further behind Keith's back while staring at Rod with her round violet eyes nervously. Rod smiled and led them to Reine, who immediately rounded up her marking and let her children to sit next to her.

In terms of appearance, Keith Forrester was almost the miniature version of his father: golden hair and sharp violet eyes. In terms of personality, however, he was closer to his mother in terms of his outspokenness, stubbornness, as well as quick-temperedness. He was also extremely protective to his little sister (although Kate was also trained in karate), beating a boy older than him who had picked on Kate badly enough that Reine had to go over to his school to settle the matter. Looking at the injuries his victim had sustained, it was easy to tell that Keith had inherited his parents' strength as well.

Kate sat between her mother and brother. Reine smiled at her, "How is your day?"

Kate took her sketchbook and opened it. Inside was a picture of her family, holding hands and smiling. "I wanna show this to Daddy," she said softly, "so I came with Keith."

"That's a nice drawing!" Rod commented.

A pang of pain hit Reine. How would she explain to her about the divorce? Kate was too young, and just like her name: she was purely innocent.

Soon, the students who had changed into karategi came back. They then noticed the presence of the two children; while they were quite familiar with Keith, they had never seen Kate before, so they crowded over her with curious endearment.

"Is she your daughter, Mrs Forrester?"

"What's your name?"

"She's so cute!"

Kate, inheriting Neil's shyness, grabbed her mother's sleeve and hid behind it. However, that only increased the excitement of the teenagers (who looked so tall and mighty to the little girl) who found Kate even cuter and more adorable.

Neil came into the training hall in T-shirt and long training pants. Kate, noticing her father, soon ran over to him while crying out, "Daddy!"

Kate was only slightly taller than Neil's knees, so she hugged his legs fiercely, trembling in nervousness.

"They are tall…" she muttered, she was on the verge of tears.

Neil stared at the students, the girls were squealing. He then scooped his daughter into his arms and let her wrap her arms around his neck while burying her face into his hair. He walked over to Reine, and Reine could tell easily that he was surprised—although not unpleasantly—by Kate's visit.

Reine gave Neil the sketchbook. "She wanted to show you this."

Neil opened the sketchbook and once he realised what it was, he looked at Reine for a moment before sitting Kate down on the bench and kneeled down, bringing him to her eye level, "I like the picture," he said.

Kate was beaming. "Really?"

Neil nodded.

He wasn't lying; at least that picture showed him how happy his family had been… once upon a time.

* * *

It wasn't long before Mikhail's curiosity of Neil was answered. That Friday, the Forresters came to him. To Mikhail, Dr Forrester was undeniably calm and quiet, the kind that would often be deep in thought and couldn't express it to others clearly.

The Forresters had seemed to decide on essential matters in the divorce: they would split their marital property evenly, the custody of the children went to Mrs Forrester with unrestricted visit, and Dr Forrester was generous enough to give his house (which wasn't included in their marital property) to his wife.

Although in their first meeting Reine Forrester had replied negatively when being asked whether adultery was her grounds for seeking divorce, with this kind of generosity, Mikhail wondered whether it was indeed the case.

He then noticed another strange point with the Forresters. Usually, couples going through divorce proceedings would not bother to wear their wedding bands anymore. At most, the respondent in the contested cases would be the ones who were still wearing that symbol of marriage. However, it was different with the Forresters.

Both of them had worn their wedding bands.

* * *

_It seemed that Neil had already set on divorcing Reine. But, why still wearing the wedding bands, then?_

_How will they break the news to their unsuspecting children, especially Kate, who will be separated from her beloved father?_

_And will Mikhail react further on his interest in Reine Forrester, now that the latter is his client?_

_Stay tuned to find out~_

_Thanks for reading and I hope you will kindly leave a review ^^_


	5. One Step Forward

_Hello! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys seem to love little Kate. Now, it's time to look closer at the big bro, Keith Forrester!_

* * *

Keith Forrester, much like his mother in her youth, was an untamed fire. He spoke his mind out with no fear, paid no heed to conventions he couldn't make sense of, fought until the last drop of his blood spent. He would only yield to those he held his respect to. His father taught him martial arts in order to contain, but not extinguishing that flame in his core.

"We practice karate not to beat someone mindlessly," he had told the boy, "we use it to protect what's important to us."

"So, did you practice karate to protect Mom?"

Neil smiled slightly. "No, I have practiced karate long before I met her." He said, "but yes, I continue practicing to protect her and you."

Neil said nothing more than that, but Keith took it upon his shoulders to grow stronger that someday he would be the one protecting, not the one being protected anymore. That feeling rooted even deeper in him after little Kate was born; he was five or six by then, and he had sworn to himself that he would be someone dependable to protect what's important to him.

* * *

After some more careful prying through the papers, Reine managed to find out Neil's physician. And so, without telling anyone, Reine took a half-day leave from school one day and made her way to the hospital.

A familiar blond greeted her with his characteristic smile as she entered the room. "Long time no see, Reine." He said, "I wonder what brought you here."

"I won't beat around the bush, William Regison." Reine replied, taking her seat in front of him.

Will then knew that she had found it out. "Why didn't you tell me? And I thought we were friends? At least, you are Gwen's best friend."

Will sighed, "It's a doctor-patient confidentiality." He replied, "As much as I wanted to tell you, he had explicitly told me not to. And until the situation became so… critical to his life, I was sworn to silence."

"How bad is it?" Reine asked.

"I would say he's doing well," Will replied, "but judging from the affected area, it will greatly damage his memory."

Reine recalled how forgetful Neil lately had been. "Short-term?"

"Yes, and in later stage, maybe his long-term memory as well."

"Can it be cured?"

"I have suggested to Neil a combination of chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumour, but he hadn't given me an answer." Will replied, "But, to tell you frankly, I wouldn't blame him."

"Why?"

Will was surprised for a moment, but then he realised that it was too late to cover it up from Reine.

After all, she did have the right to know.

And he knew how much Reine would have preferred the harshness of truth rather than the comfort of lie.

"The survival rate, at best, is 20%." Will said, "With his fitness level, actually we can hope…"

Reine couldn't hear the rest of his sentence. For her, it had stopped when he mentioned the survival percentage.

_Two out of ten?_ she asked inwardly.

* * *

When he took out his agenda in the morning, Neil found a pink Post-It he didn't remember of pasting. It was Reine's handwriting:

_Dinner at 7._

Then it occurred to him that he couldn't recall the last time he ate with his family. He couldn't even remember what he had last night for dinner.

* * *

Keith often accompanied his mother in her groceries shopping, pushing the trolley cart, and that was what he did later in the afternoon that day. As they walked through the familiar aisles, taking the usual items, his mother abruptly stopped. Keith looked forward and he saw a bespectacled man, not much older than his father yet his hair was already white, smiling at them.

Reine tugged him softly, prompting him to release the trolley grip and walked towards the man. "This is my son, Keith," she said to the stranger before turning at him, "Keith, this is my... friend, Mr Calleigh."

The man smiled at him. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Keith shook his hand, "Nice to meet you too."

Mikhail then exchanged some pleasantries with Reine. They talked like old friends, and apparently he was fond of reading much like she did.

Keith, who had sensed the tension between his parents thanks to his dangerously sharp perception he inherited from his mother, disliked the fact that Mr Calleigh was very friendly towards his mother. Thus, he took a step forward and put himself between the two adults, sending the signal to Mikhail that he wasn't allowed to come one step nearer towards Reine Forrester.

* * *

Reine tried not to put too much hope in Neil coming home on time for dinner. She didn't want to feel the disappointment again. He always ate the food she left on the table, though. However, today she had cooked Neil's favourite shrimp chilli. Without her noticing, there was indeed a part in her that was willing to take that leap of faith over and over again, no matter how many times it had failed.

It was almost seven. Usually this time round Keith would declare that his stomach would not tolerate the scent of the cooking for any longer, but today he was unusually quiet. He had been since they came back from shopping, or more specifically since he met Mikhail, and that didn't go unnoticed by Reine. She made a mental note to ask him later after dinner.

As Reine almost finished in arranging the table, sound of the car pulling over the driveway was heard and Kate, knowing what it meant, leapt from her seat and dashed to the front door while crying from the top of her lungs, "Daddy!"

Reine then heard her daughter humming an innocently happy tune from the front door, "Daddy is coming~ Daddy is coming~"

Kate came back soon with her father, her arms around his neck the way she always did. "Mommy~ Daddy is home~"

Neil approached her and put a Post-It on the table. It was the Post-It she had pasted on his agenda last night, but with an additional line below.

_Thanks._

* * *

_Reine begins to find her way to adapt with Neil's condition, and Mikhail is finding a way to get closer to Reine (despite Keith's rather obvious intervention)_

_How will things go from here onwards?_

_Stay tuned to find out!_

_Thanks for reading! ^^_


	6. Out of Town

_Hey guys, due to school that begins to suffocate me, metaphorically, I think this might be the last consecutive update for When the Colours Fade. Oh, I haven't forgotten Dragon's Tear yet, don't worry! Hahaha_

_So, I hope you will enjoy this short chapter~_

* * *

Once you have been known to a certain someone, it was so easy—much less awkward—to approach them in public. Mikhail didn't let this chance pass him by when he spotted Reine in the supermarket. Reine proudly introduced him to Keith Forrester, and Mikhail sensed the unfriendly vibe the boy gave off to him as he took one step forward. He wondered whether Keith knew that his parents were about to separate and the role he played in it.

Later that night, Mikhail continued working on the Forresters' case: archiving their marital properties. Thanks to their careful archiving, his job was relatively easy since he had most of the things he needed.

In Mikhail's eyes, the Forresters were peculiar. During their initial conversation, he couldn't sense any kind of tension between the spouses. Coldness, yes, but not tension. It was easy to see that Reine held a deep respect towards her husband, although, as for Neil Forrester, he couldn't pinpoint how exactly he felt towards his wife.

Personally, Mikhail thought Reine Forrester was so easy to love.

_Reine Kreiss_, he mused as he read her maiden name.

He still couldn't decipher why Neil would let her go.

* * *

"You're leaving?" Reine asked. "When?"

"Tomorrow."

She sighed. It came as no surprise for her—Neil often told her of his trip only the night before departure. "You need me to help you pack?"

"It's okay, I got it."

Reine was about to continue reading her novel when something came up in her mind. "Is that girl going?"

"Who?"

"Your… assistant."

"Selena?"

"I don't even know her name."

"Then I don't know who you're talking about."

Reine closed the book. Her mood for reading had evaporated into thin air. "The damned girl who flirted with you when I came by!"

Neil stared at her, rather confused. "Did that ever happen?"

Reine took a deep breath and released it. She was unsure whether she should be glad that Neil didn't remember about it, or scared of the cancer progression.

"She is tan, auburn-haired, and skimpily dressed."

"Then it should be Selena." Neil replied flatly. "Yes, she is coming."

Reine was unsure how to react. She knew Neil wouldn't fall easily for that girl… or so she thought, but she was more concerned about his health now. Could she trust Selena?

"Do you keep Will's number?"

Neil was shocked. "How do you…?"

"Don't underestimate me, Dr Forrester." She replied, "So?"

"I do."

"Good, then."

Nevertheless, Reine was a bit disappointed. This was a two-week term break, and with Keith gone for karate camp and Kate having a sleepover in Gwen's place, she had thought she could use this time to have some time alone with her husband… soon-ex-to-be.

_What are you thinking, Reine Forrester!_ She chided herself inwardly, _You're going to be his ex soon!_

Later that night, Reine found herself staring at Neil's luggage, wondering whether the next time she saw it, it meant that he would leave forever.

Just like when he turned her down initially after she confessed her feelings long time ago, she already prepared herself for the blow since she knew it was coming. Yet, it didn't mean it felt any easier for her.

* * *

The next day, Reine Forrester decided to read her book on the park; she had thought that a change in scenery would do her good. In her free time, she loved reading novels, and that intensified after she became a teacher; she loved to read novels that weren't in the syllabus since it would give her a more genuine break.

When she had just finished the chapter she was reading, she heard a sound of violin. Out of curiosity, Reine closed her book and followed the tune, which eventually led her deeper into the park, as well as Mikhail Calleigh.

"Mr Calleigh?" she called hesitantly.

Mikhail was surprised to meet her here. He stopped playing and approached her, "Mrs Forrester," he greeted. "I didn't think we would meet here."

Reine smiled, "I thought so, too."

The two of them then settled themselves on a nearby bench. "It was a nice song," she said. "You play well."

Mikhail flustered at the compliment. "I love playing violin. It's a good stress-reliever, too."

Reine laughed softly. "My husband plays guitar when he has nothing better to do," she says. "He said the same thing as you did just now."

Her words struck Mikhail; if he hadn't known better, he wouldn't have thought that these were the words from someone who was getting a divorce.

"Well, do you mind if I play?" he eventually asked, breaking the silence that sneaked between them a moment ago.

She smiled, "No, please do."

Mikhail then rose from the seat and set the violin on his shoulder, and his chin on the chinrest and began playing Beethoven's Romance in F major.

Reine knew almost next to nothing about classical music (she only began listening to them when she was pregnant because she was told it was good for her baby), but she could feel the emotions running through her as Mikhail played the tune. It was melancholic, sombre, yet there was something grand in it.

Somehow, she felt it calmed her down. It felt as if, for that moment, she could forget everything else but this tune.

And she had Mikhail Calleigh to thank for that.

* * *

_Just as when Neil and Reine seems to patch things up between them, Neil is out of town... with Selena. And Reine begins to grow closer to Mikhail on a personal level._

_What do you think will happen next?_

_Stay tuned to find out!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Please rate and review! ^^_


	7. First Loss

_Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter!_

_First of all, I'm sorry for keep forgetting to respond to your reviews. I wanna do it but it keep slipping out of my mind when I'm posting a new chapter since I'm usually in a rush!_

_Firstly, thanks for the encouragement! I promise not to disappoint ^^_

_Secondly, I see varied interpretations for why Neil and Reine kept wearing their wedding bands (which makes me happy ^^); I will let you guys decide the reason why since it _is_ indeed left for interpretation._

_Thirdly, for Selena, since I don't play AP I base her character from my personal impression (I'm so sorry for Selena fans, no harm intended) when I look at her lines and cutscenes, with some exaggeration for story purposes._

_Then, to answer Mew-Star-Mew request for Neil's perspective, I am actually unsure which perspective of his that you want me to write ^^" and it is actually hard since his brain is... messed up. Yeah._

_But I do intend telling some parts of the story in his perspective. Just keep on the lookout, kay? ^^_

_Okay, enough me talking. Happy reading!_

* * *

Today was Kate Forrester's birthday. As per the tradition that started since Roderick Braxton Jr.—Rod and Yuri's firstborn and the eldest of all the children of the three couples—celebrated his first birthday, the Rosencrantz, Braxtons, and Forresters would celebrate their child's birthday inviting the other two families, the three families were already gathered at Forresters' living room that had been decorated by Reine and Keith. Everyone was already there, except for one.

Neil Forrester was absent.

Kate, predictably, refused to start the party without Neil and she was getting increasingly upset at the thought of her daddy forgetting about her birthday. Reine tried to coo Kate to start the party without Neil, but the girl wouldn't budge.

If there were anything in common among the Forresters besides karate, it would be their stubbornness. It just ran in the family.

"It's okay, Kate, you can start without Daddy."

"I can, but I don't want to!" she pouted, and was on the verge of tears.

In the previous years, Neil made it a point to arrive home early for the kids' birthdays even though he was also practicing in an animal hospital besides the clinic. And he never failed to keep to his words.

Reine sighed and decided to go outside. When she was sure she was alone, she took out her cell phone and dialled for Neil. He picked up after the second ring.

_"Yes?"_

"Where are you?"

_"I'm still at the hospital,"_

"Do you know what date today is?"

There was a silence, but eventually he replied, _"19 April, right?"_

"Yes." She said, "and do you know what it means?"

Another silence, and his eventual reply was, _"No."_

Reine was startled by his response, and then Will's words echoed in her head:

_…in later stage, maybe his long-term memory as well._

_Is this it?_ She asked herself inwardly. She then took a deep breath, "Today is Kate's birthday. She's waiting for you to blow the candles."

_"I…"_

"Just come back as soon as possible," Reine told him quickly. "Preferably before she starts crying."

Reine cut off the line and came back into the house. Neil was too late, since Kate was already crying. Keith tried to console his little sister, as well as Rod Jr. who was close to Kate as well, but it was all in vain.

"Where's Neil?" Rod asked, worried.

"He's… on the way."

"It's very unusual of him." Allen commented. "If there's anything resembling being romantic in him, it's the way he remembers all the dates in the family like the back of his palm."

Reine was unsure whether to tell them what's actually going on with Neil. _No, not on Kate's birthday_, she decided.

Soon, the sound of the car pulling over was heard and Kate immediately stopped crying and ran to the front door. True enough, Neil emerged with a wrapped box in his hand.

_At least he had the decency to look for a present first,_ Reine thought to herself.

Kate hugged her father fiercely, "Daddy!" she said, "You came!"

Neil hugged his daughter back, trying to remember as much as he could before forgetting about it all over again.

* * *

That night, Kate insisted to be tucked in by Neil. After making sure she was asleep, hugging the new doll she had gotten from her father, Neil quietly slipped out from the room, only to find a waiting Reine behind the door.

Neil refused to look at Reine. "Look, I'm really sorry."

"It doesn't matter," Reine replied. "It's just… are you really okay?"

"I'm alright." He brushed her off immediately. "Things have been hectic, that's it."

"Don't feed me bullshit, Neil Forrester." Reine warned. "When you practiced more hours in the past, this kind of thing never happened."

"So, what do you want me to tell you?" Neil asked, careful in not raising his voice. "That I'm dying while forgetting about my own family? Do you think I…"

There was a sudden halt in his speech. His eyes became blank for a moment, before he blinked a few times and looked around. He stared at the burnt candles, the unopened presents, the ribbons.

"What's going on here?" he asked, confused.

Reine held her breath. He then turned at her, "What's happening?" he asked again.

That night, when Neil was already fast asleep, Reine went into the bathroom and let the tears she had been holding back to burst out.

* * *

_Seems the disease begins to take over..._

_Will this affect their divorce proceeding?_

_Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think! ^^_


	8. Closed Door

_Hello~ thank you for the reviews (and the tears, if I may say so)_

_I hope you enjoy this story so far nevertheless!_

_Mew-Star-Mew: if he forgets the divorce, WHOLE THING WOULD BE MUCH EASIER MWAHAHAHAHA I'd love to, but oh, well... let's see how it goes ^^ and your suggestion for the flashback is noted. Thanks! ^^_

* * *

"If we liken the brain as room with drawers that contain his memories, the tumour is like… a door built in front of those drawers." Will went on. "It doesn't destroy the memories, it just makes him unable to find them since they're behind that door."

"Then, if you says it's a door… there will be times he will open it and find those memories again?"

"Yes," he replied, much to her joy. "The loss of his memories is usually temporary. It's more like a lapse."

Her joy was temporary as a thought ambushed her head, "Unless the door is locked…" her voice trailed off.

* * *

This morning, Neil was able to recall that he had forgotten about Kate's birthday and became greatly upset by it. He also remembered what happened during the birthday party, but he didn't seem to recall the little argument he had had with Reine after the children went to sleep. This was what eventually prompted Reine to ask Will about this; fortunately she had no afternoon lessons, so she went to the hospital as soon as her last lesson ended. His explanation was rather logical and comprehensible, yet it wasn't so much of a good news for Reine since there would still be—and always be—that possibility of Neil losing his memories permanently.

If there were any silver lining in this, it would be the fact that Neil was unable to recall that he had heard his wife weeping inside the bathroom later that night.

Reine walked out from the hospital to the streets with her mind wandering away:

_So, this is it…_

_He begins to forget…_

_What will he lose next time round?_

BRAK!

In a reflex of being bumped so hard, Reine planted her footing on the ground, forgetting the fact that she was wearing high-heeled shoes; thus, her ankle was twisted in an awkward angle and in the end, she fell to the ground.

"Mrs Forrester?!"

Reine looked up and Mikhail's concerned face was the first thing that caught her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said as she tried to get up, "I was spacing out."

As soon as she put her weight on her left leg, a bullet of pain shot through her ankle. She winced, and this didn't escape Mikhail's eyes. He held her hand and helped her onto her feet, "You sprained your ankle!"

Reine calmly removed her shoe. "I'm fine, Calleigh, thanks."

Mikhail noted this was the first time Reine addressed him as 'Calleigh' instead of the usual, more formal 'Mr Calleigh'. But, then, he noticed that Reine's ankle began to swell. "Are you sure?"

Reine turned her head and froze. "…Neil?"

Neil Forrester tensed slightly at the sight of the unlikely companionship. "Reine?" he said, "What are you doing here?" He glanced at her companion for a moment, but said nothing then.

Reine realised that Mikhail was still holding her hand so she gently released herself from his grip. "I fell down and maybe have sprained my ankle."

Neil looked at her left ankle and walked towards her, taking her bag away from her hand. "I'm taking this," he declared before he turned at Mikhail, "and I'm taking her back."

The two men's eyes met each other and although there was no more word between them, it seemed that they had entered a common understanding. Mikhail then muttered a quick goodbye to the Forresters and left.

Neil then bent down, "Take off your shoes," he commanded.

"Are you telling me to walk barefooted?"

"No."

Sighing long, Reine nevertheless took off her shoes as asked. Neil took one of them and in a swift, but sure movement he broke the heel off the shoes, and it didn't take him too long to do the same thing to the other pair. He then set the shoes back on the ground. Reine carefully put them back on; silently thanking God that she had another pair of heels for work next day although she knew she shouldn't wear them for the time being. "Let's go."

Although he said nothing of it, Reine knew that they were going to his clinic, which was only two blocks away. As the couple walked side by side, Reine was reminded of a long distant scene that popped out in her mind; the aftermath of her first inter-school championship in her high school years and the first day she became his girlfriend when she, too, had injured her ankle and him, just like now, had been carrying her bag. Without her realising it, she giggled faintly at the similarities; it was such a funny coincidence.

"For a moment I forgot whom he was."

"Mr Calleigh?"

"Yes," he said, "but I remember now."

"Were you jealous?" she asked, not hiding the hopefulness in her voice.

Neil didn't reply the question. Instead, he reached out to her hand. Reine stopped walking, her heart beating fast just like when he confessed to her two decades ago; but when their skin brushed against each other, he stopped and pulled his hand back.

Reine's eyes—previously sparkled with hopeful expectation—dimmed as she lowered her head, hung in disappointment. Neil didn't like how it had turned out between them, but he then chided himself.

_Remember, Neil Forrester,_ he said to himself, _It won't be long before it ends._

A part of him wanted to forget about it, just like how he knew he began to on others things, but then he remembered that it was exactly because of him starting to forget that he had to do this.

He knew, unlike him, she would remember. So, the best he could do was to make this easier for her.

* * *

_So, do you think Neil was jealous earlier on?_

_Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think! ^^_

**_and before I forget like Neil, God forbids, I want to open up a request box (idea spawned by Mew-Star-Mew's request mentioned above): please tell me what you want to know between Neil and Reine during the gap year between the two stories. (if you guys haven't noticed, there was a ten-year gap in Colours of Our Hair before their wedding and now there's another twelve years gap). For example:_**

**_How did Neil exactly propose to Reine?_**

**_What was Neil's reaction when he learned of Reine's first pregnancy?_**

**_(courtesy of Mew-Star-Mew) What was Neil's reaction when he learned of his illness?_**

**_and so forth and so on. Basically everything that happened to our protagonists during the time frame given: The start of Colours of Our Hair to the present time of When the Colours Fade_**

**_please please please tell me what you want. I AM OPENING THIS BOX WIDE MWAHAHAHA_**

**_I'll try to fulfill them to the best of my abilities._**


	9. Tracing Back in the Rain

_This chapter will feature one of the most favourite characters (through casual observation) in Colours of Our Hair quite heavily. Guess who? ^^_

_Guess and enjoy!_

* * *

When something began to diminish, sometimes you found yourself tracing your steps back, trying to find the beginning. And that's what Reine Forrester found herself doing right now:

_Why do I fall in love with Neil Forrester?_

When she first realised her feelings, long time ago, she had never thought through why because, as the teenager she was, she thought feelings were not something that her head should mess with. But now, twenty-two years older, she found herself trying to rationalise _why_.

However, she was unable to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion since she couldn't even resolve _how_ did she fall in love with him in the first place.

* * *

Neil closed his last file and threw himself on his chair. Reine's saddened face after he decided not to hold her hand kept replaying itself in his mind.

_These are the things I wish I could forget._

Neil then made up his mind: he should apologise to Reine. He looked at the clock; she should still be in school. Hurriedly taking his coat, Neil dashed out from his office and to the road, not bothering to use the car anymore.

* * *

Reine had a new habit these days; instead of staying back and finished marking at school since she didn't want to bring her work home as much as possible (which was why she usually came home pretty late even by a teacher's standard), she brought half of her scripts back home and came home earlier.

However, today she had a new destination in mind: the pet clinic.

After years of being with him, Reine could deduce the way his mind worked as easily as she would notice an irony in a prose. Thus, despite her disappointment in what he had done yesterday, she understood that he had done it for her. Or so he thought. She should tell him what _she_ thought of this.

She twirled the umbrella in her hand as she walked; an old habit that she had never really gotten rid of. The rain, starting as a drizzle, became heavier in a sudden. Reine was inwardly thankful that she decided to use her umbrella since the beginning.

In her mind, she was still trying to work out _how_ she found herself falling for the blond. While his golden hair became one of their initial bond, that was obviously not the answer.

That was when she noticed the golden hair at the side of the road. Her vision, slightly blurred by the heavy rain, tried to gain a focus on that golden head. Then it became clear to her that it was Neil, drenched in rain.

_What is he doing here?_

She walked closer, and then she noticed he was picking up something from the ground. Reine held her breath as she realised what he was doing.

It immediately reminded her of him and Pochi.

Reine ran to him, ignoring the pain in her ankle, and put her umbrella over his head. "Geez, Neil! You're gonna catch cold that way!" she chided.

Neil looked at her, obviously confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to your place," she replied. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Neil stared at her, but said nothing. He merely held the dog in his arms carefully, having wrapped it with his coat earlier. Reine smiled understandingly; she began to come to terms with Neil's lapses.

"I have to bring this to the clinic," he says.

"You've never changed, do you?" Reine mused as they began to walk side by side under her umbrella.

Again, Reine witnessed the gentleness in his eyes as he saw the dog in his arms; the same kind of gentleness that had somehow contained the untamed fire inside her over the years and turned it into the kind of maternal warmth that she possessed now; the kind of gentleness he gave to his children as he watched them grow. It was that gentleness that bred her now deep-rooted respect for him.

Unbeknownst to herself, she had resolved her earlier question: _how_.

* * *

That night, Reine found herself unable to fall asleep. Since the incident earlier, she kept thinking about Pochi—arguably their first matchmaker even before Rod. "Neil?" she called faintly.

"Hm?"

She turned her body to face Neil, who was staring at the ceiling himself. "Do you remember Pochi?"

"I do."

"Do you remember… how you guys met?"

"I do."

"Pochi brought us together, didn't he?"

Much to her surprise, he chuckled. "Thanks to your potato chip," he recalled, "He was such a cheapskate."

Reine fell silent and another memory sneaked into her mind.

_Having been married for only a few weeks, it still felt awkward to have someone sleeping next to her again. Something then popped up in her mind._

_"Neil?" Reine called._

_"Hm?"_

_"What do you think would happen if Pochi was still with us?"_

_Neil turned and stared at her, "I guess he would be very happy,"_

_"That would've been nice, right? The three of us can walk together on Saturdays like we used to."_

_"Nah," he said dismissively, "I bet you would pay more attention to him than me. You always did."_

_"Are you jealous?" Reine asked, curious._

_"He would certainly fight for your attention against me," Neil grumbled. "That cheapskate."_

_Reine laughed, "He is just a dog!" she exclaimed, amused._

_"He is a _male_ dog."_

_Neil turned his body, now his back facing Reine. Reine smiled, then she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer to her, "You should be more honest about your feelings, you know."_

_"Whatever."_

_"Come on, what is there to be shy about?" she cooed._

_Neil abruptly turned at her, his face almost looked like a little boy caught red-handed taking an extra portion of cake. "Fine. I'm jealous."_

"Hey, Reine."

His voice snapped her back to the present. Somehow, now she was facing Neil. "Yeah?" she asked.

"I… I remember how you cried when you learned Pochi was dying," he said. "That's why…"

Reine held her breath and silence befell them. Reine was about to turn her body when Neil held her still, "Listen, Reine Forrester," he said grimly, "before I forget, I'll tell you."

"…what?"

"When the time comes, sign those papers." Neil said, "For the kids. For us."

This was those rare times when Reine could say nothing against him, mainly because she was trying so hard not to cry, again, in front of the man who had spent years of his life telling her how much of a crybaby she was.

* * *

_Seems like Neil doesn't forget about the divorce (sorry, Mew-Star-Mew). To think that Reine had just traced her steps back to the beginning..._

_What do you think will happen next?_

**_The request box is still open: please tell me what you want to know between Neil and Reine during the gap year between the two stories._**

**_Now, you guys can also 'vote up' suggesstions others had already made if you guys want it to be included, too._**

**_please please please tell me what you want through the reviews!_**

**_I'll try to fulfill them to the best of my abilities._**

_Thanks for reading ^^_


	10. Her Nightmare

_Hey guys, thanks for the abundant reviews for the previous chapter! ^^_

_For TheNinjaKitty13, your question would be answered (hopefully) in this chapter._

* * *

Reine was still speechless. "Promise me," his voice was almost like a plea. "Promise me you will sign it."

"I…"

The door creaked open. Neil and Reine got up at the same time and found little Kate behind the door, holding her doll. "Daddy? Mommy?"

Reine, her side nearer to the door, was the first to stepped down from the bed and approached Kate, "Yes, little Kate? Is there anything wrong?"

"I had a nightmare…" she replied faintly, "and I can't sleep anymore. Can I sleep here tonight?"

Reine scooped her daughter up and brought her to the bed, "Of course, dear."

As soon as Kate touched the mattress, she reached for her father, wrapping her arms around his body, reaching as far as she could. "So, wanna tell me about your nightmare?" Neil asked. "They said if you tell your nightmare to other people, they won't come true."

Her face lightened up. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Neil assured her.

Kate held onto Neil even tighter, "My nightmare was Daddy leaving the house and never coming back." She replied innocently.

"Daddy didn't even say goodbye to Mommy, Keith, and me. I tried to run to Daddy, but Daddy ignored me. Then Daddy disappeared."

No one spoke after that. Kate then took a deep breath, seemingly relieved from a heavy burden. She then looked up to her father with her large, violet eyes. Despite having his eyes, every time he looked at little Kate, Neil always thought that he was looking at Reine's much younger and calmer version.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, little Kate?"

"I told you my nightmare," she mused as she began dozing off, feeling safe since she could feel her father's warmth on her skin, "so it won't come true, right?"

* * *

Mikhail Calleigh had agreed to meet Reine Forrester outside of his office; a small café just down the road from his law firm. As compared to his spacious office, the café, despite its relative crowdedness was warmer in atmosphere. Mikhail had chosen this place because he hoped that this meeting would be less formal and friendlier in nature.

"Mr Calleigh," Reine greeted as she approached him. Mikhail sombrely noted that she called him 'Mr Calleigh' again. Today she was wearing a light pink dress, black cardigan with black handbag. Her hair was arranged neatly into a bun with some strands of her hair was let down naturally on the side of her face.

He stood up and greeted her. "Mrs Forrester,"

Reine sat across him, straightening her skirt as she did. "You called me Mr Calleigh again."

She seemed to get what he was driving at. "The last time we met, you weren't in the capacity of being my lawyer, so I called you 'Calleigh'."

Mikhail smiled, "I see."

His mind went to that particular day again. It went without saying that Reine Forrester still had feelings for her husband. Just like many of his cases, usually the wife would be the one who had a harder time letting go, even when the grounds of divorce was adultery on the husband part. However, in the case of the Forresters, Mikhail had become unsure of whether Neil Forrester _did_ commit adultery like his initial suspicion; their latest encounter was enough indicator for Mikhail that Neil was jealous when he saw his wife together with another man. Then again, even unfaithful husbands could feel that way towards their wives even when they had an affair themselves.

Men were prideful creatures, after all.

On the same note, Mikhail felt a certain sense of pride when he realised Neil's jealousy. That meant Neil saw him as a worthy rival for Reine's affection. However, in the honour of professionalism, he swatted away those thoughts quickly and got back to the current matters.

Their agenda for today was to finalise the division of marital property as well as the custody. Neil had sent him an email beforehand telling him that only Reine would go to the meeting since he had something else to do and that they had talked over about it.

"How about the children?" Mikhail asked, out of curiosity.

"I'm sorry?" Reine replied; she was obviously spacing out a moment ago, which was what prompted Mikhail to pose the question besides his personal curiosity.

"You have two children, right? A son, and a daughter."

"Yes."

"Do they know about this?"

"No," Reine replied. "Well, I do have a feeling that Keith suspects, though. He is always sharp."

"Do you really plan to keep this from them until the end?"

"If we need to, yes." Reine said, "Little Kate adores her father so much, this would hurt her."

"So the two of you are going to pretend that you are still married for the sake of the children?"

"No. I won't live a lie."

"Then?" Mikhail taunted, the thought of Reine being in a sham marriage with Neil infuriated him. "You can't keep this from them forever."

That was it for Reine. She banged the table in front of her, "Do you think this is what I want?" she asked, her voice raised, "But tell me, how do you tell a six-year old, who adores her father to the end of the earth, who just had a nightmare last night of her father leaving and never coming back, that he was going to disappear from her life for real, _forever_?!" Her green eyes flared in fury, "Tell me!"

Mikhail wondered for a moment what Reine meant by 'forever' since he was unaware of the truth of Neil's condition. However, he could understand that telling the children about their parents' separation could be a difficult task, especially to the younger ones, and especially if, in the children's eyes, their parents were doing fine together.

"I think this is it, Mr Calleigh. I can't go on." Reine said, adjusting her breath.

"What do you mean?" Mikhail asked, fearing for the worst. For a moment he didn't see himself as a lawyer who should have just followed what his client wanted, but as a man who vied for her affection. "Are you dropping the suit?"

Reine stared at him for a moment, seriously considering the option. She then remembered Neil's request last night.

_"When the time comes, sign those papers."_

_What if the time never comes?_ She found herself asking, _What if…_

His voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

_"For the kids. For us."_

For the kids. Reine had understood the power of that phrase; as a mother, she would do anything in her power to keep her children safe, shielding them from any unnecessary danger and harm.

Which one would bring more harm to them: their parents separating, or their father dying before their eyes?

For us. In actuality, Neil had given her what she had wanted: a divorce. But things had changed since then, and now she understood that Neil himself had wanted the divorce because he would rather die alone, not hurting those he held dear. However, was this how she wanted them to end? Was this the point in time when they hoped they'd be?

Eventually, she was his wife. Respecting what Neil had wanted of her, she replied, "No."

Mikhail put all the papers to their files accordingly. "If there is anymore changes in the terms of agreement, please contact me by the end of this week," he said.

"If not?"

Mikhail stared into her eyes. "The divorce papers will be ready by late mid June."

Late mid June. That would be somewhere near her birthday.

* * *

_With little Kate having a nightmare of her father leaving the family, and Reine goes through the proceeding only for the sake of respecting her husband's wishes instead of her own, everything goes down to Neil Forrester._

_Stay tuned for the next chapter!_

**_The request box is still open: please tell me what you want to know between Neil and Reine during the gap year between the two stories._**

**_You guys can also 'vote up' suggesstions others had already made if you guys want it to be included, too._**

**_Example of voting up:_**

**_Mew-Star-Mew mentioned that she wanted to know 'how he brought up the children'._**

**_Akikaze Ryo wanted to know the same thing._**

**_I will count it as a vote up. So, yeah, just mention the scene you want ^^_**

**_tell me what you want through the reviews! I will take five top scenes that you guys have picked out. Thank you so ever much!_**


	11. Shattered Picture, Shattered Heart

_Hello again! Thanks for the review!_

_For TheNinjaKitty13: well, I guess he is a moron who is afraid of hurting the people he cares about too much, not realising that what he's doing is hurting them now. How about that hahaha_

_Anyway, to all readers: Enjoy this chapter ^^_

* * *

It was a sunny Saturday and the Forresters decided to spend it at their backyard. Keith played with his little sister on the swing, while Neil and Reine were content to have some tea on the porch, watching their children playing.

"I'm surprised to see how much the kids have grown," Neil remarked. "Time really flies after you get married, doesn't it?"

Reine laughed. "Don't make me feel old," she replied, "but yes, they've grown quite a bit."

"You aren't that old yet," Neil replied. "You're still quite attractive, apparently."

Reine turned at him, surprised at his remarks. "What do you mean?"

Neil didn't reply her. Instead, he kept watching the children playing.

Suddenly, Kate jumped down from the swing and ran to her father. She put her hands onto his father's lap and stared into his violet eyes. She grinned and stared at him expectantly.

"Daddy~" she squealed.

Neil didn't immediately react, but he then lifted the girl from the floor and sat her down on his lap. Reine looked at the scene played before her and felt glad; Reine had to admit that Neil was an amazing father—albeit too protective at times on her opinion.

Kate put her head on his father's chest and closed her eyes. Soon enough, her breathing became long and regular, her chest rising and falling in a constant rate. After making sure she couldn't listen to their conversation, Neil stared at Reine, "So… she is our kid?"

The gladness she felt earlier immediately transformed into deep sadness. It felt like looking at a beautiful field of flower when suddenly your feet were on quicksand that pulled you down and there was no way out.

To think that just now they were talking about their kids.

Reine took a deep breath. _It's just another lapse_, she reminded herself. "Yes," she replied eventually. "You usually call her little Kate."

Neil carefully stroke the sleeping girl's hair, studying the pink strands between his fingers, her rosy cheeks, her small nose, her milky complexion, and the warmth that seeped into his heart as he saw the little creature sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"She looks a lot like you," he commented.

Reine smiled sadly, "That's what you said when she was born as well."

Neil nodded as he carefully shifted Kate's position to one that was more comfortable as she started to slip down. "She really does…" he mused to himself as he smiled. "Except for her eyes."

Reine laughed softly; it felt rather uneasy to have this conversation with him all over again but somehow it made her feel… good. She was fully aware that this incident wouldn't be the last of its kind, so Reine began to learn to appreciate in the accidental nostalgia Neil made her feel.

"I love them, though," she said. "I think pink and violet makes a good combination."

"I'll bring her to her room." Neil said, "This place is too warm."

"Do you… remember where?"

Neil stared at her, then eventually replied. "Where?"

Reine told him the way and as Neil went inside to tuck little Kate in, Reine turned and called for her boy. "Keith! Do you want some lemonade?"

"That'd be nice!" he replied grinning.

Reine motioned for him to go inside as well and he complied. There, Reine had prepared a pitcher of lemonade and four glasses. "Where's Dad?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of lemonade.

"Tucking your sister in."

Keith finished the lemonade in one gulp. "I think I want to ask him for a sparring after this."

"Don't." Reine immediately replied.

Keith stared at her in disbelief. It was an unusual response, but since he had sensed the uneasiness between his parents for quite some time, he was not really surprised by it. "Why?" he nevertheless asked.

"Your dad is… feeling unwell." Reine replied. "How about a sparring with me instead?"

Keith smirked. "Sure, I'd be glad to." He said, "I do need to work on my kicks."

* * *

"Reine," Neil called as he entered their room that evening.

"Yes?"

"Earlier today… I forgot about Kate, right?"

Frankly speaking, Reine didn't know how to respond to his question. Saying no meant lying, saying yes meant hurting him. Although if it had been her she would've preferred a hard truth rather than a white lie, Neil had enough on his plate already.

"Reine!" his voice was raised.

"I will not answer it," she eventually replied.

Neil grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him, "Tell me!"

"What you know, you know." Reine replied calmly as she looked into his eyes.

He released her in shock. "I did…" he eventually said, "I know I did…"

A sharp shooting pain suddenly invaded his head; it was even more excruciating than the usual ones. He clutched his head and crouched down. Reine bent down, "Neil? Are you alright?"

He groaned in pain. When Reine tried to reach out to him, he hit her hand away, accidentally causing her hand to hit a nearby glass cover on a family picture on the wall that immediately shattered into pieces.

Blood dripped from Reine's hand as she stared in mixture of terror and anguish of what Neil was becoming. It was only then Neil realised what he had done to her, and that brought only more vexation to him.

"Mom?"

Neil and Reine turned at the door, only to find Keith staring back at them, surprised at what he saw. "Mom, are you alright?" he asked immediately.

Reine quickly covered her hand. "Don't mind me, dear."

"Leave me alone," Neil hissed.

Reine, knowing any talking wouldn't reach him at this state, walked over to her son and touched his shoulder with her uninjured hand, "Let's go and talk outside, shall we?"

When they reached the dining room, Reine looked for the first-aid kit box and began to remove the glass pieces that had pierced her skin, most of them in the back of her left palm. Reine clumsily used the tweezers to pick the smaller pieces out using her right hand, her left hand being her dominant. Seeing this, Keith took the tweezers from her mother and began to remove the pieces himself.

"Gee, thanks,"

"What's going on with Dad?" he asked straightforwardly as he took another piece of glass out.

"Well, to put it in the simplest way, many things are going on in his mind."

"Whatever's going through in his mind doesn't give him the right to hurt you."

Reine was rendered speechless by her own son. As she watched Keith carefully tended her wound, she wondered why the wound in her heart getting deeper and deeper.

* * *

Reine went back inside the room after Keith tended to her hand. Neil had apparently cleaned the floor. Neil was taking an extra blanket when she was entering the room. "Neil?" she called hesitantly.

He turned at her. "What's with the blanket?" she asked.

"I'm going to sleep at the guest's room." He replied flatly.

"Oh." Reine clenched her left fist, ignoring the pain that shot through it right away. "…why?"

He walked past her with the blanket. He was unsure what to tell her; all of his words of apology he had intended to tell her had been sucked into the black hole inside his head. Eventually, the only words that could come out from his mouth were, "Just because."

After Neil closed the door behind him, Reine stared at the broken family picture on the wall, her blood blotted out Neil's face in the picture, leaving the picture with only three people inside.

Reine took the picture from the wall and tried to clean the blood off. As she began to wipe away the blood, trying to find Neil's smiling face once more, she noticed a tiny droplet of water on the blood spot, only to realise that it was her tears as if trying to remove the blood and brought Neil's smiling face back into the picture, so that she wouldn't forget.

* * *

_As Neil's illness begins to control him, he did what he was so afraid of doing: hurting Reine. Will now Reine really leave, or will she urge him to stay, just like her own tears that try to bring Neil back into the family picture?_

_Stay tuned for the next update!_

**_The request box is still open: please tell me what you want to know between Neil and Reine during the gap year between the two stories or vote up the existing suggestions!_**

**_Tell me what you want through the reviews! I will take five top scenes that you guys have picked out. Thank you so ever much!_**


	12. Not The Only One

_Hey guys! I wrote this chapter in quite a rush, but I hope you don't find it too shabby whatsoever._

_And thanks for the reviews ^^ like you'd probably have known anyway, I love reading reviews hahaha makes me feel good and motivated to write ^^_

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Today, Neil received a very unusual visitor. "Where's your pet?" he asked once he saw the man entering his office. "If you're here only to look around, feel free to leave."

His visitor laughed at his cold reception. "C'mon, is that the way to talk to your brother-in-law?"

"I'm working."

"And so do I," Allen replied. "I heard from Gwen about you guys."

"Since when you became a marriage counsellor?" Neil asked coldly. _You don't even know what's really going on_, he mused.

"Since you're stupid enough to forget what you told me back then,"

"I forget many things." Neil admitted.

"Well, so here I am, using my free time to remind you what you told me eons ago."

"What?"

"'I don't want to risk hurting Reine because I know _I_ will be hurt seeing her hurt'," He said. "Ring a bell?"

Neil felt a pang in his head. Then a voice echoed inside—his voice.

_Who do you want to protect the most? Who do you love the most?_

Neil stared at Allen in between the hammering that was going on in his head. "Shit."

"How… how much do you know?"

"Don't underestimate me, Neil Forrester," Allen smirked, "I am still _the_ Allen Rosencrantz, you know? I am working in that hospital, if you have forgotten that as well."

Neil reached for his medication in his drawer and quickly took a small brown bottle containing white pills. His pain subsided somewhat after he took two of those pills.

"You can't judge me," Neil declared.

"I am not judging you," Allen assured him, "I'm just repaying my debt to you. When I was at my lowest point, you drag me up. And I guess it's just right to do the same when you're at your lowest point."

Neil said nothing. Allen's blue eyes pierced him like a spotlight. "Now, it's me asking you. Who do you want to protect the most? Who do you love the most? Is it Reine? Or is it… yourself?"

* * *

"Mrs Forrester, what happened to your hand?"

Today, Reine couldn't count how many of her students and colleagues that had asked that question. And to everyone, she replied, "I hit a glass frame,"

Many of them would think that her answer denoted her clumsiness, but not to Rod Braxton who had known her as long as Neil had. He didn't even need to ask.

"You had a fight with Neil." He immediately concluded once he saw the bandage wrapping her left hand.

"Huh?"

"Am I correct?"

Reine threw her glance sideways. The hall was only filled by a few students who ended earlier, and Neil hadn't arrived yet. "It wasn't really a fight," she replied in a low voice eventually.

Rod stared at her, concerned. Like many—if not all—couples, Neil and Reine bickered, but they never fought, physically (they were too tired of each other from sparring against each other for karate). In fact, Neil was the kind that wouldn't let Reine to get any scratch or bruise on her skin. So, this was… something.

Rod sat next to Reine and asked patiently, "Care to tell me what happened?"

"Well… it's kind of hard to tell." She admitted. "I made a mistake. A terrible one."

"Then?"

"I… don't know how to fix it."

"Hey!" Rod exclaimed, "Where's the usual Reine with her funny logic? Okay, not funny… hm… how should I say it…? With her simple logic?"

"Funny… simple logic?"

"Yeah! Neil used to tell me a lot about it!" Rod replied, "Like… putting an umbrella over your head when it's raining, or cook a meal when you're hungry… or say, declare your feelings to the person concerned? Sounds familiar?"

Reine then remembered the early days of her relationship with Neil, when they hadn't been dating yet. She then remembered that she often thought that she should do things that 'make sense'.

Reine smiled wryly. Maybe Neil wasn't the only one forgetting things.

"I should apologize to him."

"Yeah! That's the Reine I know!"

"Thanks, Rod!"

"Now you can just go and find your Neil!"

"What?"

"This kind of thing shouldn't wait!" Rod insisted, "Run! Find him!"

"Hey, I can't leave my job!"

"It's okay! I'll cover you!"

Reine laughed, "You've never changed, Rod," she mused. "But, hey, thanks a lot. Really."

Reine rose from her seat and headed out. Neil's car wasn't anywhere to be found, but she did find something, or rather someone, interesting standing on the school gate.

Mikhail Calleigh.

He walked over to her, "May I have a moment to talk?"

"No," Reine replied as she ran past him, "I have to find my husband."

Much to her surprise, he held her wrist tightly, prompting her to stop. Reine sighed, "Make it quick," she said. She didn't want to waste anymore time, or made any more misunderstanding between her and Neil.

It was then when Mikhail noticed the bandage. "Did he do that to you?"

"Yes and no," Reine replied, "Now, what's your business? Feel free to leave if you're just looking around."

Mikhail was tempted to press on the matter further but, noticing how rushed Reine seemed to be, cleared his throat. "The papers are ready."

"I…"

"And," he quickly interjecting, not knowing when he would get such courage anymore, "after all of this is over, and you're ready for someone new… can I be that person?"

"WHAT?!" Reine was practically yelling. "Are you crazy?!"

With one swift movement, Reine freed herself from Mikhail and ran away. Subconsciously, her feet brought her back to her home, the place where she believed she belonged to, and Neil's car was parked on the driveway.

She rushed and opened the door, and Neil was standing before her, confused. "Neil?" she called, holding her breath.

He frowned. "Kreiss, what are you doing here?" he asked. "This is my place."

Kreiss.

_My_ place.

That moment, Reine cried at the top of her lungs and dropped to her knees before Neil, her tears streaming like a pair of waterfalls on the sides of her face.

Neil was extremely startled by her sudden breakdown. Without knowing what had happened to her, and how he had played a part in it, he reached out to her. He was unsure whether he was doing the right thing, but in the end he took her into his arms. Because there was one thing he knew—and remembered—for sure:

His love for her.

* * *

_Mikhail eventually declared his feelings to Reine while Neil, on the other hand, had almost completely forgotten about her._

_What will Reine do?_

_Wait for the next chapter to find out!_

**_A/N: If you guys hadn't realised it yet, actually I made a lot of references to Colours of Our Hair. However, the scene between Allen and Neil that was referred to earlier will never be found in Colours of Our Hair; it's in the Colours of Our Heart. In summary, that time Allen was planning to break up with Gwen, thinking it was for the best, but Neil asked him whether Allen was really trying to protect Gwen from being hurt, or rather he was protecting himself who would be hurt seeing Gwen being hurt. So now it's kind of the reversal between the brothers-in-law._**

**_That, aaaand... the request box is still open ^^_**

_Thanks for reading! Please leave me your opinion! ^^_


	13. The Fight He Had Chosen

_Hey guys! Thanks a lot for the reviews ^^ I'm glad you enjoy the story so far!_

_Before we continue reading, I just want to tell you that Mikhail's portrayal here does not exactly follow the game (at least that's what I thought, he wasn't my choice in ToTT)._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! And this time, I try to use Mikhail's and Neil's perspective. I hope it's okay with you guys ^^_

* * *

Mikhail wasn't really surprised at Reine's reaction. What kind of a man asking a married woman out? Either stupid, rude or just crazy and clearly, Mikhail wasn't the first two. Yet, this woman would be a free woman this weekend.

She would be Reine, still. She would always be. But she would be Mrs Neil Forrester no more.

He knew she would need time. And that's what he would give to her.

* * *

The next morning, Mikhail Calleigh called for Neil Forrester who hadn't been available all day yesterday. Much to Mikhail's joy, he picked up his phone on the third dial.

_"Yes?"_

"Mr Forrester, this is Mikhail Calleigh."

_"Yes, what is it?"_

"The papers are ready. Will this Saturday be a convenient time for both of you?"

There wasn't an immediate response. Mikhail waited patiently. Eventually, Neil replied.

_"I will tell my wife about that,"_

"Thank you, Mr Forrester."

Neil then cut off the line and Mikhail sighed long.

It wouldn't be long until Mrs Neil Forrester became a history.

Was he being a responsible lawyer, or a manipulative man?

He would let Heaven be the judge.

* * *

That evening, Neil and Reine purposefully tucked in little Kate earlier than usual. Little Kate, as always, was unsuspecting; if there was anything, she was more than happy to be tucked in by her father since nowadays Neil did that much less frequently than in the past.

Neil had told Reine what Mikhail had told him earlier. Since Mikhail's confession, Reine inwardly couldn't trust the legal advisor anymore. He was a fine man, yes, and a competent lawyer. He was just not the lawyer for her. Not anymore.

Not after she knew he had a personal interest in this divorce.

However, Reine didn't tell Neil about Mikhail's confession. She eventually accepted this divorce as a punishment of her foolishness. It was her who had asked for it and it was her who had appointed Mikhail Calleigh.

It's just like what they said: be careful of what you wish for, because you just might get it.

She was a fool, and losing Neil was the price she had to pay—her punishment. So she accepted it. She had to.

When Neil and Reine went to the dining room, they found Keith was already waiting for them. They weren't surprised, since they had been aware of their son's perceptiveness. "What is it?" Keith asked, straightforward as always.

Neil and Reine sat down across Keith. It was Neil who eventually said, "Your mother and I decided to get a divorce."

Keith frowned. "A… what? Are you kidding me?!"

"No."

"This doesn't make sense." Keith replied immediately, "I know you guys are a bit… distant nowadays but… a divorce?"

"This is for the best."

"That's bullshit, Dad." Keith rebutted almost immediately. The respect he had held so fiercely for his father turned into rage; his father, who was his idol suddenly turned into a blasphemous statue of an unknown god to the young boy. He then shifted his eyes to his mother: his last resort, his sanctuary, his hope. "Mom?" he called, so faintly, so desperate of an answer that would calm the rage inside him down. "This is not real, right?"

_I wish it isn't_, Reine thought, nevertheless what came out from her was: "It is real."

And that's when the trigger inside Keith was snapped. "Why?!" he demanded.

Neil and Reine couldn't provide a satisfactory answer to Keith, knowing that in doing so they had to reveal Neil's condition—which Neil was strongly against of doing.

However, for Keith Forrester, it was a sign of insensibility. "You adults don't make sense to me!" he retorted as he sprung to his feet and dashed to his room.

Reine rose, but Neil held her down. "Let me talk to him," Reine pleaded.

"I will do it." Neil replied. "I… need to talk to him."

These days, Neil could tell whether he would experience a lapse soon. It would start with a peculiar knock on his head that would escalate into a steady rhythm that would go on a sudden acceleration before… poof!

Something in his head was gone.

Although he knew it would come back some time later, the fact that he hurt others when he lost it infuriated him. For Neil Forrester, what mattered wasn't the fact that they came back, it was the fact that he had lost them it the first place.

He felt the knock in his head. He knew he didn't have the luxury of time.

* * *

His door was knocked. "Keith, I need to talk to you."

"Another insensible thing?" he asked, "Count me out."

"Let me speak and I'll let you decide whether it's insensible or not."

Keith eventually let his father in. Neil closed the door behind him as Keith sat down on the edge of his bed again. When Keith saw his father, he recalled his mother's face when he was tending to her hand, and when his father mentioned the word 'divorce'. On both instances, Keith knew his mother was holding back her tears.

"You've hurt Mom." Keith immediately told his father.

"I know," Neil replied, much to Keith's shock, "and I'm not proud of it."

"Did you intentionally hurt her?"

"I tried not to, but just like in training, some pain are necessary to gain something… better."

"This isn't training." Keith retorted. "We are talking about Mom's feeling! I know you love her!"

"I never said I don't."

"Then, why giving up on her? Why don't you fight?"

_Fight_.

Keith's word immediately reminded Neil of the teenager Reine. In the midst of the steady rhythm in his head he tried to suppress, he saw her younger self and heard her voice.

_If you are really a man, Neil, you've got to face that fight. Face it, fight on._

Since that day, those words had become his guide. He fought, but being the person he was, his fights were different from the fights that people like, say, Reine and Keith would have expected. Neil had learned that each person had his own fight, a fight different from others, and that's what made life so unique from one another.

This was the fight he had chosen to face.

Neil put on his hand onto Keith's shoulder. "You remind me a lot… of your mother,"

The rhythm accelerated. Neil knew he was running out of time.

_Please, God. Let me at least do this._ He beseeched inwardly.

"Keith, protect your mother… and your sister. Take care of them in your way."

As if his prayer was granted, the moment Neil finished his sentence and blinked his eyes, his son's room became a foreign environment to him and his blood and flesh a stranger. He stared at the younger boy, slightly amused by their similarities.

Before the younger boy could say anything, Neil turned back and left.

Meanwhile, Keith was trying hard to figure out _why_ his father had left him with those words.

_Take care of them in your way._

_My… way?_ Keith asked to himself, somehow knowing that he couldn't ask his father to explain to him what exactly he had meant by those words.

* * *

_Reine accepted the divorce as her punishment. Keith had learned the hard truth between his parents. Neil had entrusted his son to protect Reine and Kate._

_It seems that there is no turning back. The Forresters are splitting up._

_Will this really be the end?_

_Stay tuned for the next update!_

_Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think ^^_


	14. Fighting the Right Fight

_Hey all, thank you for keep reading this story! ^^ I'd never expected such a response when I first thought of this story, this being an OC story and all! So thank you so much!_

_Mew-Star-Mew: don't worry, I'm doing my work ^^ It doesn't take long for me to write a chapter (say, 20 minutes), that's why I can update frequently. ^^_

* * *

The day came. Reine took a look at the calendar, and she realised that May hadn't even ended yet. She remembered that Mikhail told her it would be late mid June, but somehow he was able to make it sooner.

Reine gritted her teeth, trying to suppress her anger.

Both Neil and Reine wore their formal suits for today an in an unspoken agreement, both of them wore black attire, as if they were in mourning.

Just as Reine put on her earrings, she noticed that Neil was struggling with his tie, as always. Reine rose from her seat and went over to Neil, "Here, let me help," she offered. Neil complied and soon, his tie was fixed.

"Uh, thanks."

"You're always so clumsy with your tie," Reine mused.

"That's why I don't become a doctor like Allen," he managed to joke.

"A vet is close enough,"

Reine refused to look at Neil's eyes today, and that didn't escape his attention. "Thirteen years…" she mused faintly.

"I'm sorry for throwing away those years." Neil replied. "I'm so sorry…"

His apology made Reine felt even worse. She knew she was the one playing with fire, yet he was the first to apologize. "Don't…" she managed to reply. "I should be the one…"

Neil reached out to her, and finally, for the first time since they began the proceeding, Neil took her in his arms without being in a lapse.

"I'm so sorry, Neil…"

Her tears began to soak in his jacket. Neil breathed in the scent of cherry blossom perfume she wore, and realised that there were some things that would never change:

Her being a crybaby.

Her scent of cherry blossom.

And how he loved her because of and in spite of everything that she was.

* * *

Neil decided to wait in the car while Reine fixed her makeup. Just as she took her purse and was about to go outside the house, Keith approached her.

"It's today, right?" he asked.

"Yes,"

Keith then handed over a silver medal to her. Reine realised it was the medal she had won decades ago in the interschool championship high school category, the medal that symbolised her determination to keep fighting, and the medal that Neil had worn on their wedding day on his jacket.

"You seem to have forgotten about this," Keith said.

Reine knew her son had known about the story behind that medal, as well as the gold medal that came alongside with it. And he was correct: she had forgotten about this.

Reine took the medal from her son and put it inside her purse. "Thank you,"

* * *

Rod came to be one of the official witnesses of the divorce, which was ironic since he had been the best man during Neil's wedding. Rod had only been aware of the divorce last night, when Neil asked him to come.

_"Hey, I brought you your wedding band," Rod complained when Neil told him of what happened, "And now you're asking me to watch you sign that paper? Do you have an even worse joke?"_

_"You are my best man," Neil replied._

And it was enough for Rod to drag his ass off to give the moral support Neil would have needed.

_What stupid mistake Neil make this time round?_ He wondered, only to remember what Reine told him just a few days ago:

_"I made a mistake. A terrible one."_

_So… is this because of Reine? But what is it that drove Neil to divorce her? This doesn't make sense at all._

Rod's train of thoughts was interrupted by Gwen, who came as the witness of Reine's side. "Do you know the story?" Rod asked almost immediately.

"Reine asked for it, and Neil complied."

"Neil isn't the cheating type!" Rod exclaimed.

"I think it's not cheating."

Their conversation was cut short when Neil's car came into their sight. He parked the car nearby and stepped out with Reine. When Reine's eyes caught Rod, the latter knew that she was on the verge of tears.

Rod came to her, "What is it?" he asked through a whisper. "How come…?"

"This is the mistake I made…" Reine replied. "I asked for a divorce."

Rod glance at Neil, who was barely able to keep up his poker face, and as he studied Neil, he noticed something in Neil's breast pocket.

_A gold medal?_

* * *

Mikhail greeted the four visitors in his office. It was easy to tell that Reine had brought her sister, since they were identical (even their hair colour), and Mikhail was wondering whether Dr Forrester's witness was also his brother.

"Gwen Rosencrantz," the woman introduced herself.

"Rod Braxton," the man followed.

Mikhail then led them to the chairs, where the Forresters sat directly across him, and the witnesses next to each spouse. Mikhail set the papers before him, checking for the fourth time of the day that it was the right set of papers. He took a black pen and passed both to Neil Forrester.

Usually, he should have given the papers to Reine Forrester first since she was the one filing the suit. However, he made an exception for today.

* * *

Reine watched nervously as Neil perused through the papers. He flipped the papers carefully as he read the terms, and after he finished reading the last page, he took the pen and opened it. He paused for a moment.

_Is he hesitating?_ She asked inwardly, hopeful.

Her hope was crushed, though, when Neil eventually signed the paper. He then passed the paper and the pen to her. She read the first page: "Divorce Settlement".

She still remembered the day she asked for the divorce: how she wished it would end as soon as possible. And now, she was reaching that end she had wished for, but was this what she had really wanted?

She stared at Neil's signature on the paper, and when she lifted her head, her green eyes were met with Mikhail's grey, expectant eyes and when she turned, Neil's violet eyes were also fixed on her.

She knew one stroke of her hand would determine which path she would go down from this day onwards. And most probably, _with whom_ she would walk with for the rest of her life.

Eventually, Reine remembered what her son had given to her, and more importantly, what he had reminded her of. She took a deep breath, and put down the pen in her left hand. "I refuse to sign the paper."

"What?!" Neil and Mikhail exclaimed in unison.

"I don't want the divorce anymore." Reine replied in the same composure.

Rod punched into the air, "Go, Reine!" he cheered excitedly.

"Is there any terms that you don't agree with?" Mikhail asked, trying so hard to maintain his level of professionalism.

"I don't want the divorce anymore, is that not clear enough to you?" Reine asked, slightly annoyed, before she turned to Neil. "I know I was the one who asked you for this, but I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

"It's not about that anymore, Reine," Neil reminded her, "and you know."

"You are fighting your fight," Reine replied, "and I am fighting my own fight."

"That's right,"

"But are we fighting the right fight?" she asked.

On that, Neil fell silent.

"I will sign only if you can tell me you don't love me anymore while looking into my eyes!"

Neil averted his gaze. "You know I can't do that."

"Exactly!"

"I want to protect you—"

"Bullshit!" Reine interjected as she rose from her seat. "If I'm the one you want to protect, you did it in the worst way possible, Neil Forrester."

"So you're saying you'd prefer to watch me dying than be happy with someone…" his eyes met the legal advisor's before he continued. "…better?"

Reine momentarily glanced at Mikhail before she looked at Neil again, "I'd rather knowing you're not dying alone than giving a chance to someone else making me happy and knowing that it won't go anywhere."

Mikhail knew this might happen, and for that reason he had secured Neil's signature. "Mrs Forrester, this state's law stated that once a spouse signed the divorce papers this can be brought to the courts if the other spouse refuse to—"

"Can you just shut up?!" Reine snapped.

"So I can bring this to the court?" Neil asked.

"Yes, you may."

Neil seemed to weigh the option. Reine turned at him again, tears started to form in her eyes. "Say, Neil, if our positions were reversed… would you sign this paper as well?"

Silence befell the room. Now, everyone was staring at Neil. Eventually, Neil leaned back into the chair. "You're such a difficult woman," he said, "A fire, bullhead, crybaby… and you're so damn good at arguing."

Neil then stared at Mikhail, "I'm dropping the suit as well."

Reine lunged at Neil and kissed his cheek, prompting the latter to blush. "Hey! We're not teenagers anymore!"

"You're still shy as ever," she replied with a cheeky grin as she hugged him adoringly.

Mikhail was at loss of words, however, when he saw Reine's obvious happiness, he couldn't help but be happy for her as well.

Her happiness didn't last long, however, since Neil suddenly experienced another lapse. He clutched his head tightly as he tried not to scream in pain.

"Neil?" Reine asked, alarmed by his sudden change.

Neil couldn't say anything; the pain was too excruciating. The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was the scent of cherry blossom.

* * *

_Fighting the right fight._

_With Reine managed to convince Neil to let her stay and thus cancel the divorce, everything seems to end happily._

_But, there's still one more fight: Neil's cancer._

_Stay tuned for the next update!_

**_by the way, the request box is still open. I'm quite sad coz you guys won't tell me what you want hiks T.T_**

_anyway, thanks for reading!_


	15. Another Chance, The Gamble

_Thank you Chris Shino, Mew-Star-Mew, kinicia and TheNinjaKitty13 for the reviews! And thank you for you guys who are keeping up with this story!_

_I hope this is not disappointing!_

* * *

"You didn't know he was sick?" he asked.

Reine shook her head, "Not until I came across his lab result. And that was after I filed for the divorce."

Rod nodded his head understandingly. "He's still foolishly secretive as always."

At this remarks, Reine trembled slightly. "I know, right?" she said bitterly, "I should've known he's hiding something… no… I _knew_ he was hiding something, but I was so selfish, I… I…"

"Hey, hey, I didn't say what you did was right, but everything was in the past now!"

"But, if I had known about this earlier, all of these might never have happened!"

"Look at it this way, Reine," Rod suggested. "After all this… incident, you realised how much he really means for you. Many people only realised it after they lost it. You are given another chance."

"Another chance I don't deserve."

Rod smiled encouragingly, "If it's given to you, take it as you deserved it."

* * *

When Neil's condition had improved enough for Will to have a conversation, a serious one, the latter brought up another suggestion of treatment that Neil had never given an answer to the last time. Unlike last time, Reine was allowed to remain. In fact, Neil _asked_ her to remain.

"The longer you wait, the greater are the odds against you," Will warned gravely. "Neil, your physical condition is great. I mean: you exercise regularly, you don't smoke, you aren't a drinker… there are people with worse lifestyle than yours who survived this."

"That doesn't give me that definite assurance of me surviving this whole thing."

Will glanced at Reine; hoping that she would understand his point of view. She did, yet she also understood where Neil came from as well. She could sense Neil's fears, and she felt that it was _real_. Reine took his hand and squeezed it.

"I will think about it," Neil finally said, "I will consider it."

* * *

"Chemotherapy and surgery, huh?" Allen said, "Well, they're classics for cancers,"

"I know," Neil replied.

Allen and Gwen decided to pay a visit to the Forresters' house after they heard that Neil was discharged. Keith, sharp as ever, decided to distract his little sister by playing with her in her room (although he was never into dolls and playing house) right after he greeted his uncle and aunt. Now, the four adults sat in the dining room. Although it had changed over the years (Neil and Reine decided to renovate the house after they were married once and again when Keith was three years old), Allen and Gwen could still recall those times when this room served at their main camp; the six of them. It was the ideal main camp since Neil lived alone in this house so nobody would be bothered if they gathered there.

"Classics doesn't mean ineffective, you know?"

"I know,"

"Then?" Allen asked.

"I have four years to gamble," Neil replied. "I know it's not absolute."

As Allen and Neil discussed about the treatment Will had proposed in further details, Gwen glanced at her younger twin; Reine was gravely silent and it was so uncharacteristic of her. Yet, she knew they were now discussing about her husband's life. They discussed it over the dining table, as if it was a chatting material.

Gwen, being the wife of a plastic surgeon, rarely heard about Allen's patient's deaths; his main cases would have to do with some sassy women wanting their nose to be smaller, lips fuller, blah blah blah.

Reine, being the wife of a veterinary surgeon, heard more often about deaths: in this case, animal's being put down or died on the table.

In any case, none of these two women would ever imagine talking about an impending end to someone's life over the dining table.

Gwen touched her twin's hand gently. "Reine…"

Reine, who had been staring blankly at the table, jerked at the sensation of the touch. "Oh, it's you," she sighed. "I'm okay,"

"I know you're not," Gwen said, "I'm your twin."

"I'm trying to, okay?"

Gwen offered her a smile, "Sounds more like you," she said, "Fight to the last drop of your blood, yes?"

* * *

After Allen and Gwen went home, Neil asked Reine to go to Kate's room before retiring to their own, knowing that both their children were there. Kate was playing house with Keith; she was 'cooking' using her toys.

As always, she was beaming when she saw her father. "Daddy!" she called. "I'm baking a cake~"

Neil smiled, "I'm sure it will taste nice."

Kate giggled. "Yes!" she said, "One day I'll be a better cook than Mommy!"

At this, Reine laughed. "I'll be waiting for that day," she said honestly.

"Daddy could be the judge!" Kate proposed.

At that, Reine said nothing.

Four years was the estimated time Neil had left, according to Will.

Four years.

However, Neil smiled at his daughter as if nothing were wrong. Indeed, between the two, Neil was better in keeping secrets and offering white lies. Whether it was a good or bad skill, neither of them knew.

But Keith knew he could always seek honesty in his mother. So, when he looked at Reine's pale face, he knew something was wrong. He had been overjoyed when he had heard that his parents were not separating, but when he was told that Neil had to stay in the hospital, he knew something else was wrong.

_Take care of them in your way_.

Keith began to think _why_ his father had left him with those words, knowing that it should have been more than about the divorce: for as long as he knew, his father wasn't that narrow-minded. As he reached nearer to the truth on his own, he found himself trembling. He might be sharper, tougher, or more perceptive than his peers, but at heart he was still a twelve-year-old boy.

"Dad," he called.

Neil glanced at him, "Yes?"

"Don't go to somewhere I can't reach."

Neil was struck at those words. Yet, he tried to lighten up the mood, "Because you're still too short?"

Keith smiled at the effort, "You suck at joking," he said, yet smiling, "but I guess you can put it that way."

* * *

Neil and Reine lay next to each other on their bed, staring at their ceiling. "Kate wants to be a better cook than you, huh?" Neil murmured.

"She will be,"

"I want to see where that goes, honest." Neil said, "I have so many things I want to see…"

"Such as?"

"Keith's first girlfriend," he replied, "whether he's also into fiery girls. Oh, Kate's first boyfriend, too—making sure she's into the right kind of guys. Their college days, graduations…" his voice trailed off.

Reine rolled her body over to look at her husband's face. She could see his eyes gleaming with hope, that dreamy, hopeful look.

"Oh, I want to walk Kate down the aisle." He said, "I know it's still a very long way to go—at least twenty years from now—but isn't that what fathers do? Send their daughter off to the man of her choice, just like what your father did."

There was a kind of melancholy in his eyes—a melancholy raised by a question she knew too well. It was then Reine saw a glimpse of what resembling a tear in his eyes. Neil closed his eyes, yet the tear didn't escape his eyes as if he managed to keep it inside his heart, just like what he had done with all his fears and anxiety, letting out only what he hoped to be, although he was painfully aware of the reality, not forgetting it yet.

"Reine, whichever path I choose, will you be there?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Although you won't agree to it?"

Reine took longer to ponder on this. "… yes."

"No tears, okay?" he pleaded.

"… okay."

Neil sighed long, "Thanks, that means a lot." He rolled his body over and his violet eyes met her gaze, "I'll do it… the gamble." He said, "I'll gamble the rest of my four years for a chance to see everything I want to see, including the day when your pink hair turns grey."

Reine nodded. Closing her eyes, she tried to keep her tears back just like what Neil did. Then, she felt his lips on her forehead. "Sorry, I know you have a hard time holding your tears back."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Reine reciprocated; holding him as close as possible to her, embracing everything her arms could reach and put it close to her heart, no matter how much it hurt.

Because she was afraid that there wouldn't be another time.

* * *

_Neil took on the bold step to gamble against the odds._

_What will happen next?_

_Keep on the lookout for the update!_

_Thanks for reading and please share your feelings and thoughts! ^^_

**_Okay, I shall now declare that the request box is closed! Thank you for the inputs, guys! I really appreciate it, honest!_**


	16. Price of Honesty

_Hey again, guys! Here I am with another chapter~_

_Mew-Star-Mew: I know you mentioned this in another review, but good luck for your tests! I hope these stories will give you some... respite? A bit of enjoyment in the depressing age of tests, how about that? oh, and what details are you referring to in your last review here? It might've slipped my mind hehe..._

_Oh, just a bit of trivia, 'Reine' in this story is pronounced (RAY)-nu; like 'rain' followed by an 'a' like in 'a book' (the schwa); it refers to her tendency to cry (cry, rain, call me lame if you wish hahaha)_

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter guys!_

* * *

Everything went by so quickly and before they realised it, today would be the start of Neil's chemotherapy session. Staying true to her words, Reine went alongside Neil to the hospital.

They were greeted by Will and a nurse, "This way," he said.

Neil changed his clothes into the hospital gown and made his way unto the bed. According to Will, the drugs would be admitted intravenously. So, once Neil settled down and told the nurse that he was ready, she applied a local anaesthetic onto his skin. It was enough hints for Neil and Reine that it wouldn't be a pleasant procedure. She then took out the needle—noticeably larger and longer than the usual ones he would see—and carefully put it into the vein in his chest. Despite the anaesthetic, he could still feel the metal needle slipped into his skin and settled there. After that, he watched the nurse carefully calculating in which the drug would enter his body.

"It will take around three hours," she said. "You may want to rest."

"Thanks." Neil replied.

With that, the nurse left with a faint smile on her face. Reine, who had been quiet throughout the process, moved to the side of his bed, asking: "How do you feel?"

"Surprisingly ordinary."

"No nausea, dizziness?"

"No," he replied, "Don't worry, you crybaby."

It had been ages and ages since Neil last used that nickname on her. Reine pouted slightly, "I haven't sobbed yet, you dummy."

Neil laughed, "I bet you would if I didn't call you such."

"Whatever."

* * *

The chemotherapy itself was uneventful afterwards, and Neil could go back home right after the three hours. Reine turned on the ignition after they fastened the seat belt; it had been some time since she had driven a car with a passenger inside. It made her feel a bit… nervous.

"You drove here fine," Neil said, as if reading her mind. "It will be fine,"

Reine nodded. She loved driving fast; at least, she used to. "I just… don't want you to get back here so soon."

Neil laughed. "I'll get back here quite often, don't you worry."

Reine took in a deep breath before pressing the accelerator slowly. The car accelerated smoothly on the relatively empty road and Neil leaned back to his seat.

"How are we going to tell the kids?" Reine asked.

"We'll just tell them," Neil replied calmly. "Honest, no secrets."

"Says who keeps this secret for the longest time."

Neil smiled, "That's why I know how painful it is to keep it secret."

Reine paused awhile. "How about Kate?"

"She's a crybaby, just like a certain someone," Neil replied, "but I know she'll get through it with her tears. Just like that certain someone, I know she's a fighter, too."

* * *

The side effects of the chemotherapy began to emerge that night. Neil began to feel nauseous and his movements were a bit sloppier. Knowing that, Reine cooked a clear soup so that it would have been lighter on him. Neil, out of appreciation of Reine's efforts, tried his best to eat whatever she cooked no matter how he just wanted to vomit everything in his stomach.

After the table was cleared (with no one throwing up), Reine asked her children to stay back. "We have something to talk about," she told both of them.

Keith and Kate settled back to their chairs, waiting expectantly. While Kate stared at her parents with a kind of blissful innocence, Keith did grimly, as if knowing whatever they were going to talk about, it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Actually, it's me who want to talk to both of you." Neil said.

It was enough surprise for both of them; usually, Reine would handle any kind of talk, especially one of scolding, to them. Neil would usually be the one deciding how far (read: how harsh) Reine could be in her words instead of doing the talking himself since he was no man of words.

"What is it, Dad?" Keith asked.

"Put it simply, I got cancer."

Keith jerked back. "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, for quite some time."

As expected Kate was the one taking the blow harder. Without any warning, she began to cry. "Does that mean Daddy's gonna die…?"

Neil took his daughter and settled her on his lap. "Everyone is going to die, little Kate," he said, "It's just a matter of time."

"But you haven't tasted my cooking yet!" she cried out before forcefully leapt from Neil's lap for the first time in her life and dashed to her room, banging the door behind her as she screamed, "Liar!"

It was expected. For Catherine Forrester, who thought of her father as even a greater man than the princes in the fairy tales, it was impossible for him to die so easily. Neil understood that, so he took no offense in her screaming at her (anyway, it was not the first time a pink hair screamed at him; he had gotten used to it). What hurt him were the tears on her cheeks as if they were frozen and turned into icy blades that stabbed the core of his heart. Reine rose from her seat, "I will talk to her,"

Reine went over to Kate's room and knocked the door, "This is me," she announced.

"Go away!" she screamed.

Reine knocked the door a bit harder this time, "Catherine Lyla Forrester, open the door!"

Standing against her mother's thunderous and authoritative voice, Kate relented and turned the lock on the door. Reine went in and found Kate in her tears. "Why, Mommy?" she asked. "Why Daddy said such things to us?"

That moment, Reine began to understand why Neil had preferred the divorce. Yet, this fight wasn't a fight that should be faced alone. Reine took a deep breath and motioned for Kate to come closer. She did, and was immediately embraced by her mother. Much like her father, Kate enjoyed the scent of cherry blossom that always accompanied Reine.

"Do you remember your nightmare… about Daddy leaving without saying anything?"

"Yeah… I thought it won't come true."

"It won't," Reine said, "He would never leave without saying anything."

"Are you saying that… he is saying goodbye just now?"

"No," Reine replied, "but he wanted you to know that… he might have to say goodbye later."

"But I don't wanna Daddy to go yet!"

"I don't, too," Reine admitted, pressing Kate closer to her chest. "But this is not something that we can have a say in. Your daddy doesn't want it, either."

"Does Daddy not love me?"

"He loves you more than world."

"Does Daddy know I love him?"

Reine smiled, "You wanna tell him to make sure he knows?"

Kate quickly wiped her tears and nodded enthusiastically. Reine let her go and motioned to the dining room where Neil had stayed. Kate dashed back to where Neil was sitting and embraced his legs fiercely, prompting the latter to lift her up from the floor and sat her on his lap once again. He smiled, "Yes, little Kate?"

"Daddy, I want you to know I love you." Kate declared. "Wherever you go, please remember that I love you thiiiiis—" she stretched her arms as widely as possible, "—much!"

Neil smiled. Kate's was an honest declaration that almost reminded Neil of Reine's confession years ago on the school's hallway. "Thank you," he muttered. "I love you, too, little Kate."

"Promise me you won't forget you love me?"

"I promise I won't forget that I love you."

A voice echoed in his head and on Kate's face, he could see the reflection of the twenty-seven years old Reine behind her wedding veil staring back at him.

_I won't forget that I love you._

* * *

_With Keith and Kate finally learns the truth, it is another step in their fight to keep the family together._

_How will the chemotherapy affect Neil after this?_

_Stay tuned for the next chapter!_

_A/N: the last line of this chapter is actually taken from Neil's wedding vow to Reine in Colours of Our Hair when, after he had forgotten his original vow out of nervousness, he vowed never to forget his love for her._

_Personally, I think it's sweet. ^^_

_What do you think?_


	17. Two Pictures, Two Men, A Woman

_For the benefit of those who didn't read the trivia I put it after posting the last chapter, pronounciation of Reine in the Colours series will be (RAY)-nu or rain with an 'a' in '__a__ book'. I decided to tell you guys this because apparently there's an alternative pronounciation of the name Reine._

_So... enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Neil woke up in the middle of the night and went to the bathroom; his steps were swaying as he tried his best to keep his balance. Once he was inside, he threw himself in front of the closet and began to throw up everything in his stomach. He couldn't hold it in; couldn't help it.

His head was so heavy and his stomach churning. And he knew this was only the beginning. He knew things were going to get even worse than this. He _knew_.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

A moment later, he felt a warm touch on his back. He turned his head slightly and found Reine smiling at him, "You can't sleep, obviously," she said.

"Must've woken you up," was his reply as he flushed the toilet. "Sorry."

Reine began to rub his back gently, sending her warmth into his skin. It was comforting, and the knowledge of her being there somehow calmed him down. "It's okay," she assured him.

Neil rose and washed his face, feeling a bit refreshed afterwards. Reine went out and took a glass of water for him as he went back to the bed. "Thanks," he said as she passed it to him.

Neil drank slowly, out of worry that he might throw it up if he did it too fast. As the water passed his throat, the burning sensation that lingered there began to subside. He put the half-emptied glass on the nightstand next to him.

When he looked at Reine again, he found her arranging her pillow behind her back and taking a novel from the nightstand that was next to her. "You're not going to sleep?" he asked as she opened the book 'Second Chance Summer'.

"I'm going to finish this chapter first," she replied.

"Say, I'd never known you're into reading until we're dating for some time." Neil mused. "And that's because Gwen mentioned it to me."

Reine laughed. "That's because I only read in my bedroom."

"Why?"

"To make myself comfortable." Reine replied with a smile. "Say, Neil, it's been years you know I'm reading but you only ask 'why' now? You're a strange one."

"I have two reasons." He replied, "One: when I find you reading, you're more often than not already engrossed in the book I don't dare to speak. Two: I thought… you only read in the bedroom because you want to be left alone… I just want to make sure."

"Well, no." She assured him.

"So can I… sleep on your lap?"

The question surprised Reine, yet she closed the novel she was reading and patted her lap gently, giving Neil the 'ok' he was asking for. Neil settled quietly on her lap and he closed his eyes. He loved the scent of spring Reine always gave off; it was as if she reminded him that no matter how cold the winter was, spring would always come. That hope _do_ exist. It was like a rebirth after a long dark, cold existence.

Now, he needed that feeling of being reborn. And so he breathed in the scent of cherry blossom that was almost fused with Reine and closed his eyes, feeling peaceful once again.

* * *

After what had happened in his office, Mikhail had never expected for the Forresters to contact him again, ever. Yet, one morning, he found Neil Forrester's number was calling him, and that afternoon, he was standing before the Forrester's house.

It was a two-storey house with a garage for two cars, yet there was only one car parked there. On the second floor, there was a balcony decorated with some planted flowers. Painted in white, this house gave Mikhail a warm feeling a home should have. It wasn't a grand house, but obviously a comfortable one.

Neil was the one receiving him after he pressed the bell. He looked much thinner than the last time he saw him. "Thanks for coming," he said as he let him in.

As the two men settled themselves on the couch, sitting across each other, Mikhail could see their enlarged wedding picture fixed on the wall, where the newly wedded couple were gazing at each other lovingly. Both of them were much younger in the picture, and there, Reine was smiling wide as her eyes were fixed on her then newly wedded husband. There was no question on her happiness.

Next to the wedding photo, there was a family picture of the same size; it was taken one week before Neil began the chemotherapy treatment. In that picture, Reine was sitting at the only chair there, with her two children at the side and Neil standing behind her. Reine's smile in this picture was rather different with the previous one; there was happiness mixed with sadness at the same time in it. Looking at Neil's present condition, starkly different from even the newly taken family picture, and Reine's mentioning about him dying, Mikhail could roughly guess what was going on.

Neil was a no-nonsense person. He immediately produced an envelope and passed it to Mikhail. "I want you to keep this."

"Which is…"

"My will."

Mikhail took the envelope and opened it. The content declared Reine and his two children to be the recipients of his inheritance equally while Reine would act as the guardian to their children's estates until the latters came of age. There was another clause that attracted his eyes:

_If I am to be dependent on ventilator machine, I wish to be released from the machine in fourteen days after it has been determined that I have little, or no hope of recovery._

"This is…"

"Just a safety measure," Neil replied, knowing what clause Mikhail was reading. "Reine wouldn't have the heart to do it, so I'll have to."

"I see…"

"Say, Calleigh," Neil began. "The last time we met, I remembered saying that my wife is a difficult woman."

"Yes, you did."

"But, wouldn't you agree with me that she was so easy to be loved?"

Neil was staring straight at him as he posed the question, and that moment, Mikhail realised Neil Forrester _knew_.

"I…" he arranged his words carefully. "Yes, I agree."

Neil Forrester offered him a faint smile. "I know you would," he said. "But, please remember one thing: she is not just a woman anymore. She is a mother."

Mikhail then glanced at the family picture once again, this time focusing his attention to the children. The elder was almost the carbon copy of the father, while the little girl had obviously inherited her mother's beauty.

"The children are a part of her, too." Neil reminded him. "If you are to love her, I'd ask you to love her children just like you love her as well."

That moment, Reine emerged from the front door. She froze when she saw the sight of Mikhail Calleigh, "Oh, of course," she muttered to herself. "Would you like a drink?"

"It's all right, Mrs Forrester," he declined politely.

"We're just finished." Neil told her.

"Well then, let me see Mr Calleigh off," she said, "You should rest."

Neil nodded and turned back at Mikhail. "Thank you for coming down,"

Mikhail put the letter into his briefcase and rose and shook Neil's hand before he let Reine led him to the exit of the house.

"There will be no one who can love the children as much as he does," Reine declared once they were outside.

"So you heard,"

"I did," Reine replied, "and let me make this clear to you, Mikhail Calleigh."

Reine stood before him with a certain amount of graceful, resolute confidence. Her eyes were fixed on him, a pair of a fiercely proud emerald rings around black spheres at the centre of her eyes.

"There will be no one—_no one_—whom I can love as much as I love my husband."

Mikhail bowed down respectfully in defeat, glancing at the wedding band around her finger as he did. "I understand," he replied, "that he is such a fortunate man."

"Goodbye, Mrs Neil Forrester."

* * *

_Neil had apparently entrusted Mikhail with taking care of his family, yet Reine didn't appear to submit to that request._

_Stay tuned for the upcoming chapter!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Please tell me what you think of this chapter :)_


	18. Their First Bond

_Hey, here's another chapter again from me! I hope you aren't getting bored by this story yet!_

_Mew-Star-Mew: better late than never, right?_

_kinicia: thanks! I hope I won't disappoint you!_

* * *

When Neil Forrester was much younger—when he was in his teens—he wanted to get rid of his golden hair so badly. It was that golden hair that brought him the undeserved reputation as a delinquent, the golden hair that became a pheromone to the thugs looking for another trouble, the golden hair that sent him numerous times to the detention room, but it was the golden hair that led him to the then Reine Kreiss.

She, who was fiercely proud to be a pinkette, was the one who taught him to be proud of himself. She was the reason why he began to love his golden hair.

Thus, his golden hair was the first bond that kept them together, along with her own pink hair.

Those were the thoughts that ran into his mind when he saw the mess of golden locks in his hand when he scratched his head that morning. And surely, that didn't escape Reine's keen eyes. "I'll sweep the floor later, don't worry about that," she said soothingly.

Yet, both of them knew that wasn't the real focus here.

* * *

As the journey back and forth the hospital became too taxing to Neil, it was decided that Neil should stay in the hospital. Moreover, the date for the surgery had been decided to be two weeks from today and Will wanted to be able to monitor Neil's condition 24/7.

As expected, Keith and Kate now had a new stop after they finished school: the hospital. They became quite popular among the nurses, thanks to their distinctive violet eyes. By now, Keith and Kate were on friendly terms with majority of the nurses in the oncology ward. Keith took it upon himself to take care of his little sister, having inheriting his father's protective nature and his mother's independent streak.

Just like any other day, Keith and Kate would stay until 5 pm. Once the clock struck five, Keith reminded Kate that they needed to go home.

"But I still wanna stay here!" she refused.

"We'll go back here tomorrow," Keith replied, "You don't want to go home in the dark, right?"

Kate pouted, yet she followed her elder brother obediently.

"Bye, Daddy," she said, kissing Neil's cheek before leaping down from his bed.

"Bye,"

"Bye, Dad!" Keith said before he closed the door.

"Take care, you two."

"You have amazing children, Dr Forrester," the nurse who had watched them commented.

Neil smiled. "Indeed," he agreed. "Keith is my pride, and Kate is my joy. I have nothing more to ask."

* * *

Interestingly, while many people said the colour of their hair became duller as the chemotherapy session became more and more intense, that didn't happen to Neil. His hair was still gloriously golden as ever. But, more and more of his hair began to fall, and so Neil decided to shave the rest of them straight away. "They'll open my skull soon enough, anyway," he reasoned.

Yet, both of them knew his golden hair held a greater sentiment to them, especially to Reine. Reine, who had admired Neil's golden hair since their first meeting; who had identified Neil Forrester with his golden hair; she saw his golden hair as what had brought him to her. However, she said nothing when Neil decided to shave his head. He had a point, anyway.

The nurse came with an electric shaver and a piece of cloth to cover his body. After she wrapped Neil in the cloth and fastened it behind his neck, she prepared the shaver right away.

"Um, nurse," Reine said. "Can I… do it instead?"

The nurse stared at Reine for a few moments before she smiled, "Yes, sure, Mrs Forrester."

Knowing that it was better to leave the Forresters alone, the nurse then headed for the door. "You can call me when it's done,"

"Thank you," Reine replied gratefully.

Reine walked over to Neil's back and reached for the shaver with her left hand. Although she had found the resolve in her to be the one getting rid of his blond hair, she found her hand trembling.

You might call her silly, but no words could explain how his blondness had mattered to her… to both of them, actually.

"Reine," Neil called.

"Yeah?"

"I remember you told me once… when we were teenagers… that my blond hair brought me to you," he trailed off, "and I know our hair—the colours of our hair—are the first bond that keep us together."

Reine held her breath.

"But, we aren't teenagers anymore." Neil reminded her, "We've grown… and formed new bonds along the way."

Neil turned around and gazed at the woman who had spent years of her life with him, right in her teary green eyes. "So, I guess, even if we let go of this one, we'll be okay."

That was when the first drop of tears escaped Reine again. Neil smiled and wiped it gently, 'You crybaby," he said, "_my_ crybaby."

She let go of the shaver and embraced Neil tightly. They revelled in this silence between them for a few moments, praying that it could stay that way forever. Yet, the knew time would never stop.

"Neil," she said, pulling apart from the embrace, "even if we let go of every single bond between us, promise me one thing, okay?"

"What?"

"Don't forget your wedding vow to me."

Neil put her face into his hands, "I promise I won't forget that I love you."

"I will trust you," Reine replied faintly, reciting her own wedding vow.

Neil smiled and leaned in. Reine closed her eyes and a moment later, she felt his lips on hers, renewing the seal of their renewed vows to each other.

* * *

_According to the Emperor in Mulan, the flower that blooms is adversity is the most beautiful of all, but I think, the flower that _survives_ adversity surpasses it._

_With Neil and Reine renewed their wedding vows, it seems that nothing could stand on their way._

_But their biggest challenge is coming soon: the surgery._

_What will happen after this?_

_Stay tuned to find out!_

_A/N: Again, this time I make the reference to the original Colours of Our Hair, more precisely the scene where Neil was contemplating to dye his hair, causing Reine to be mad at him. After Neil decided not to dye his hair, Reine admitted that she thinks his blond hair had brought him to her, while Neil thinks (inwardly) that it is Reine's pink hair that brought her to him. So, the colours of their hair were what brought them together in the end. I hope that explains why Reine and Neil are conflicted pretty much when Neil decides to get rid of his hair thanks to the chemo side effects._


	19. Into A Deep Slumber

_Hey guys, with the school work mounting against my wishes and me just recovering from a nasty bout of stomach flu, the updates will be a bit slower I guess. But I'll try my best not to disappoint you guys! Please stay me with me for this last lap!_

* * *

While the chemotherapy had alleviated Neil's usual bouts of forgetfulness considerably, the exchange was his physical strength; at this point, he needed the wheelchair if he was to leave his room for examinations or the treatment. Sometimes, even a trip to the toilet would tire him out. More importantly, Reine began to worry whether he was strong enough to withstand the surgery.

"Don't worry, Reine," Will told her endlessly, "I won't suggest this method if he's unsuitable for it."

"But—"

"I know it's hard for you to see him at this state," Will interjected politely, knowing what's going on in her mind. "But, trust me, it will worth the end."

Reine sighed. "I hope so."

* * *

At last it came: the surgery. Neil seemed to be calm about it, as if he was prepared for anything. Then again, he had been preparing himself for this since the diagnosis came out. Reine, while appeared to be as calm, was in turmoil inwardly. She struggled to maintain a strong front for the sake of her children as well as Neil: it was her who decided to stick with him through this, anyway.

All went smoothly until the nurse came to bring Neil to the operation room alongside with the lead surgeon. Kate, who was chatting with her father until the nurse came in, stared at the line of white-dressed grown-ups. She asked innocently, "Are you going to take my Daddy away?"

"It's time for Daddy's surgery," the nurse replied.

As if sensing some kind of grave danger, Kate's face became gloomy as she replied, "You can't take him away…"

Keith immediately grabbed her, "You're interrupting them," he said bluntly.

That's when Kate began to lose control. She started crying and she yelled at her brother, "But they're going to take Daddy away! How can you let them do that?!"

"Just shut up and be a good girl, Kate!"

"Keith," Neil warned sternly. "Don't."

"But—!"

"Keith," Reine echoed the same tone, forcing Keith to obey this time. Frustrated, Keith stormed off the room.

Desperate for some backup, Kate turned at Reine. "Mom! Don't let them do that!" she pleaded.

Reine took a deep breath, trying to patch the crack in her hearts before replying, "The sooner we start, the sooner you'll get to see your daddy again."

"What if Daddy never comes back?"

It was a purely innocent question; a question that each one of them held tightly in their hearts, afraid to find the answer. Kate turned and faced the lead surgeon, a male in his mid-forties with a calm face. This time, the little girl found in her the bravery to stand for what she wished to defend, despite being in tears. After all, she was a Forrester as well.

"You can't take my daddy away!" she declared.

"Can you give us some moments?" Neil asked calmly.

"Yes, sure," the surgeon replied.

Neil then motioned for Kate to come closer, which she obeyed. She climbed to his bed and sat next to him. "You can't go, Daddy,"

"You can stay," Neil replied, "you slept late last night, right?"

Kate nodded sheepishly. "Are you mad?"

Neil shook his head as he rested her head near his body. "By the way, it's not nice yelling at people," he reminded her.

"They were going to take you away."

"That doesn't mean you can yell at them."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

It doesn't take long for Kate to fall asleep, since she was indeed exhausted from staying up late the last night completing a thousand cranes that was now arranged neatly next to Neil's bed. On each paper was written her prayer of Neil's going back home with them. Once Kate seemed to be deep in sleep, Reine carefully moved her away from the bed and carried her in her arms. That moment, Keith came back into the room, his eyes were red and puffy. "Make sure you come back home, Dad," he said, "You still have a lot… to teach me."

Neil smiled and pressed the bell for the nurse. Soon, she came again with the surgeon. "Sorry for the delay," he said.

"It's okay, we understand."

Just before they wheeled him out from the room, Neil asked Reine to come closer, which she did. "Do you believe in a thousand paper cranes?"

"I would believe in anything… that gives me hope of you coming back," Reine replied in the same low, cracked voice.

"Don't cry, you crybaby,"

"Can you not—"

Reine's speech was halted when she noticed the tears in his eyes. "What if I never wake up?" he eventually asked.

Reine paused for a moment, and somehow the words slipped through her mouth, "I'll wake you up."

* * *

Now Neil was faced against the surgery lamp.

"Are you ready?" the surgeon asked.

Neil recalled Reine's promise to wake him up. He took a deep breath, "Yes."

A mask was then placed over his mouth. Neil inhaled once more and soon his eyelids became heavy. He knew it was time.

Everything became dark, but his body was light. Another breath, and something started to appear before his eyes.

It didn't take him long to realise that it was a memory of his past being played before him, as if he had gone into a journey back through time…


	20. The First Night

_For those who immediately go to this chapter then feel lost, please note that I updated two chapters at the same time this time round ^^_

_so yeah..._

_anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

Gwen and Yuri helped Reine out from her dress and all those accessories; it seemed to be quite troublesome. While waiting for them, Allen and Rod asked—rather, forced—him for a little chat in the living room.

"Congrats again, Neil!" Rod said cheerfully, "At last you marry her!"

"Yeah, at last." Allen echoed as he poured a glass of whiskey and offered it to Neil.

"I'm not in the mood for drinking."

Allen laughed, "You'll need it," he said suggestively, "For whatever that's going to happen tonight."

Colour rose to his cheeks as he came to a realization and Rod laughed, joining Allen. "I'm tired, and I bet she is, too."

"And that's when the liquor helps!" Allen said triumphantly. "C'mon, don't feed me bullshit of you never imagining her—"

He was halted abruptly by the sound of door opening. "Oh, it's you princess," Allen greeted, "I thought it was Reine."

"What if it's Reine?" Gwen asked curiosly.

"Allen's going to lock them in the bedroom!" Rod announced before laughing uncontrollably.

"Shut up!"

"Oh, that's a good idea." Gwen replied before giggling herself, "She'll be done soon, I guess."

* * *

After years of dominating the bed all for himself, Neil wasn't accustomed to share the space with someone else. Especially with Reine, after the talk that Allen gave to him earlier.

In contrast, she seemed to be calm about it: maybe that's because she had been sharing her bed with Gwen until the latter married Allen. And she had no idea what Allen had said while she was struggling to take the dress off without tearing it apart.

They climbed on the bed with him letting her to choose which side she wanted to be on first. As he didn't drink any of the liquor in the end, he drifted off once he closed his eyes and the fatigue took over.

* * *

"KYAAAA!"

Then he felt a powerful jab on his stomach, forceful enough to knock him off the bed and send him crashing to the floor. Neil rose from the mess created by the bedcover that had fallen along with him. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I'm sorry!" Reine cried, "I felt something was pulling me then I just kicked! I don't know it's you!"

Neil remembered that he had removed his bolster before she moved in, and maybe he had mistaken her for his bolster. Still, that didn't mean she can kick him off his—no, their—bed at the middle of the night. On their first night.

Neil climbed back to the bed and faced away from Reine. His stomach hurt.

"I'm sorry…"

"Whatever," he replied dismissively.

A moment later, he felt her arms around his waist, tugging him, and then her face against his back, "I'm really really sorry…" she said in a childlike voice, "Please…?"

Heat rose in his body. Although he was used to being close to her, it had never happened on a bed. He then remembered what Allen told him earlier:

_For whatever that's going to happen tonight._

"Shit, Reine," he grunted nervously, "don't make it so hard for me to hold it back."

"Huh? What is there to hold back?" she asked innocently.

He wasn't sure whether she really knew what she had said, but that was enough for him. A moment later, he flipped around and pinned her down, her hair sprawled in a mess of pink above the white sheet.

She held her breath, "N… Neil?"

"You said it yourself, Reine," he said, "I have nothing to hold back."

Apparently, the whiskey was unnecessary, after all.

* * *

_aaaand stop!_

_The few next chapters would feature flashbacks of their lives together so I guess it's just right to start off with their first day of being married._

_Thanks for reading! ^^_

_Please rate and review!_


	21. The Stork

_Hey guys, thanks for the views and reviews! I'm so glad you guys seem to__ enjoy this story! ^^_

* * *

"So, when are you planning to have children?"

The Forresters were flustered at Lyla's sudden question, with Neil even choked on his tea.

After Jack Kreiss retired from his current job, Jack and Lyla bought a farm at a small town called Leaf Valley and settled down into a very calm farming life, with Lyla opened a small flower shop near the house.

During the school holidays—which meant Reine's holidays—just like this time Neil and Reine always made a trip down to the farm. Neil would usually do a checkup on Jack's livestocks—something that his father-in-law was really grateful for. Now, the relationship between the two men was so good that no one would never believe it if it was said that Jack had initially opposed Reine's relationship with him vehemently.

Reine patted Neil's back lightly as she replied, "I think you've already had enough grandkids from Gwen, no?"

Lyla let out a small laugh. "I want a blond grandchild," she replied teasingly, causing Reine to giggle as she recalled how the Rosencrantzes were made of spectrum of solid redhead to pinkette. "Besides, a home would be so lively with a kid, especially yours. Trust me."

"Well, that depends on the stork." Neil said with a slight blush he wouldn't admit.

Reine took another piece of milk cookies that was served on the table, and that didn't escape Lyla's notice. "Since when you're fond of cookies, dear?"

"Oh, I just feel like eating it." Reine said, munching it happily.

"She's been this way for two weeks, at least," Neil said, "She would bake a cake and gobble it by herself like a pig. Now the house smells like sugar and flour."

Lyla stared at her knowingly, "When was your last period?" she asked frankly.

Reine shrugged, "Dunno." She took another bite and munched like no one else's business. Suddenly, she stopped munching, put her hand over her mouth and bolted off from the room. Neil quickly followed her after muttering a quick sorry to Lyla who smiled back in return, as if knowing something that the young couple hadn't even noticed.

As he had suspected, Reine threw up everything she had eaten before in the toilet. Neil rubbed her back carefully, "Geez, this is what you get for eating so many sweet stuff at once."

"Sorry…" she muttered before throwing up again. "Can't help it…"

Neil sighed long; sometimes Reine could be so… unpredictable. But that's another thing that made her so lovable for Neil.

After Reine was finished, they came back to the dining table; Lyla wasn't there anymore.

"Where's Mom?"

The elder pinkette emerged soon, "Sorry, I was out to the clinic," she said with a smile on her face.

"What happened to you?" Reine asked, worried.

Lyla laughed it off. "I'm okay; I went there for you."

Reine frowned. "For me?"

Lyla then took out a small package with a suggestive smile. Neil's eyes widened when he saw the label, "Pregnancy test?"

"Yes, try it out." Lyla smiled.

Reine took the package hesitantly, and then she headed in alone.

That was when Neil began to feel anxious: what if Reine turned out to be pregnant? Well, he had never thought of it as seriously as he did now.

What if Reine was really pregnant?

Neil rapped his feet on the ground. He didn't know what to say, or what to do.

Suddenly, they heard a scream from inside; it was Reine. Neil and Lyla immediately bolted to the bathroom, but they were interrupted by Reine's sudden appearance as she leapt towards Neil and embraced him as tightly as she could.

"Reine?! What's wrong?!" Neil asked, his heart skipping a beat.

"It is! It is!" She replied, "It's positive!"

A surge of happiness flooded his heart. The thought of Reine being the mother of _his_ child overwhelmed him in the best way possible. He kissed her, for once forgetting that his mother-in-law was there, although soon he remembered that and blushed furiously although Lyla didn't mind at all about it.

She then moved to her mother and hugged her as well. Lyla smiled and hugged her back, "Congrats, dear,"

Reine didn't waste any time to run out from the house and called out to Jack who was watering his pineapples. "Dad! You're going to have another grandchild!"

Jack put down his watering can and went over to her, "For real?" his eyes darted to his son-in-law.

"Ugh, yes, sir."

Jack went inside and walked towards Neil as Reine dashed to take her cellphone to call Gwen and share the joy, "Good job, but this is only the beginning, I guess." Jack said.

"I know,"

Jack hit Neil's shoulder lightly. "Don't worry, son."

He wished he could say the same thing to himself.

However, he would be downright lying if he said he wasn't excited at the prospect of having a child with the woman he loved more than the world.

* * *

_How will Neil and Reine go about this new experience?_

_Find that out in the next chapter!_

_Thanks for reading!_

**_A/N: These chapters (starting from chapter 20) are actually flashbacks of Neil's memories, so everything will be in his perspective._**


	22. Unconditionally

_Hey guys, thanks for the views and reviews! To clear up the confusion raised in kinicia's review, I'll say it once again: Chapter 20 (Their First Night) onwards is a flashback of Neil's memories about their marriage while he is being operated on in the present time._

_I hope this clear things up ^^_

* * *

"Is it painful?"

Even though all of them were married, Allen, Rod and Neil still set aside some time to have some "men's talk"—you know, the kind of stuff that they wouldn't admit of talking about to their wives. Usually, this time round, their wives would also have their own girls' time. And the rule stood between them that what was being spoken there stayed there.

"There is a reason why it is called 'went into labour', Neil," Allen replied almost amusedly.

"Yuri delivered little Rod normally." Rod joined in, "It looked like painful."

Neil rapped his feet on the floor and scratched his head, and that made his friends laughed. "Neil, we're talking about Reine!" Rod replied, "She won the nationals twice just like you!"

"This is not karate," Neil groaned.

"No, but what I'm saying is, she can withstand the pain." Rod said, "Even Yuri can."

"Even Gwen did, too."

"She slept through C-section. That doesn't count."

Then there was a knock on the door, "I brought tea," Reine said from the other side. "Can I come in or you guys are still talking about how painful labour is?"

Rod put on his hand over his mouth. "Whoops."

Neil sighed and went over to the door. He then took the tray from Reine's hand, much to her protest. "Hey, I can still carry a tray, you know!"

"You can, but you may not." Neil replied, using a line Reine herself often used to debate him in a 'can vs. may' clauses.

Reine strengthened her grip on the tray, pouting. "I'm just pregnant, okay?"

"You are _damn_ 8-month pregnant!" Neil replied, almost exasperated. "Can you even see your own feet now?"

These days, these kinds of bickering between Neil and Reine were common. Being as stubborn as she was, she refused to let Neil helped her with most of the things; insisting that she could do it on her own. As always, Reine refused to yield, although she knew everything that Neil did was out of concern for her.

"By the way, you guys talk like women," Reine said as she entered the room and sat down on the chair that Rod offered to her. "I thought it should've been me asking that kind of stuff."

"We were just answering Neil's curiosity." Allen replied, shrugging. "Are you not curious yourself?"

"I am," she replied, "but rather than letting them scare me, I think I should be patient. It will be anytime soon now, anyway."

Allen laughed, "You are smarter than I thought."

"Hey! I'm a teacher!"

"Kidding, kidding…"

Suddenly, she bit her lower lip as she cradled her enlarged tummy. That alarmed Neil greatly that he came to her side quickly as Allen and Rod crowded around her. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?!" Neil asked anxiously.

Reine squeezed his shoulder hard, as if trying to tell him the pain she went through without words. Neil felt his heart was skipping a beat time to time.

Then, she flicked her finger on his cheek playfully as she beamed into a mischievous smile. "Don't worry too much, dummy," she said just before she pressed her lips on his cheek.

Neil blinked for several times before he realized what was going on. "What the—"

Rod and Allen burst into laughter. "You should've looked at your own face just now, Neil!" Rod exclaimed.

"We should've taken a picture of it."

"Shut up!" Neil snapped with furiously flushing cheeks.

Reine rose to her feet, still with a satisfied smile across her face with Rod supporting her. "I gotta get back, Gwen and Yuri will be worried."

"Thanks for the tea, Reine!" Rod said.

"Yup, no prob!"

Reine walked out from the room slowly, slower than the pace of her entering earlier. Just a few moments after the door was closed behind her, they heard another groan.

"Reine! I'm not falling for that trick again!" Neil retorted.

Yet, the voice didn't stop. In fact, they heard something heavy was dropped. Neil knew this time she wasn't fooling around. His heart skipped another beat as he dashed out from the room. "Shit!"

True enough, Reine was kneeling on the floor, her hand on her stomach, and her face contorted in pain. Cold sweat started to form on her forehead and she bit her lip so hard that it almost bled.

* * *

Reine squeezed his hand as hard as she could as she began to push the baby out. She didn't need to say anything; he could see the word pain burned into her face and it pained him that he could do nothing at all but looking at her, not knowing that for Reine, that was even more than enough.

When Reine's breath became labored, Neil understood why people said it was said to 'go into labour'. And even though he had known roughly how it was when he helped numerous dogs and cats to give birth to the puppies and kittens, it was so different when it was his own wife going through it.

"A bit more, Mrs Forrester!"

By this time, Reine was almost completely out of energy. Her eyes dazed and it was the strength of Neil's arm on her back that supported her.

She took in another deep breath.

Reine cried out in a mix of frustration and pain as she gave another desperate push.

This time, they could hear a loud new cry broke through the room.

Reine sighed long as she let go all of the weight of her body on Neil's arm. "Congratulations!" the nurse announced, "It's a healthy boy!"

"Can I… see the baby?" Reine pleaded.

The nurse came soon enough with a small creature in her arms and offered it to the young couple. Neil was filled with wonder and awe as he set his eyes on his son for the first time.

He, just like himself, was blond. But Neil didn't care; even if the boy was born a pinkette, he would love him as much.

Reine embraced her son with all the strength she had left. "He's so lovely," she said in a weak voice.

Neil put his arms around Reine and his newborn son, and kissed the crown of her head. "Thank you, Reine," he whispered so lowly that only Reine could hear him. "Thank you for giving birth to our baby."

Reine laughed, "So… who should we call him?"

"Well, I'm no good with names." Neil admitted. "I'll let you choose."

Reine mused for a few moments before she eventually decided, "How about Keith?"

"Keith Michael Forrester… how does that sound?"

Neil smiled, "That sounds wonderful."

Although she was in a mess; her face flushed red and drenched in sweat with strands of pink hair that escaped the cap she had worn, she looked so beautiful in his eyes as she lowered her head to kiss the newborn Keith.

And there was nothing else that could make him happier that time than when he heard her saying, "Happy birthday, Keith."

* * *

_With Keith's presence in their expanding family, now Neil needs to learn the ropes of being a father._

_How will he go about it?_

_Wait for the next chapter to find out! ^^_

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!_


	23. To Be A Parent

_Hey guys! Here I am with another chapter! ^^ And you're welcome, Chris Shino, I'm glad you enjoy these bits of their lives hahaha_

_Oh, to person (I really hope I know your name), I didn't mean to make it as cliff-hanger, my bad ^^'_

_kinicia: yeah, I will go back to the present later :)_

* * *

Being a parent was hard. One must learn mostly through trials and errors on how to be a good parent; and it was especially hard for Neil since he basically had never known his father.

The hardest thing for Neil was how _not_ to be overprotective towards Keith, who was now three years old. It posed a peculiar challenge for Neil because Keith, obviously inheriting Reine's seemingly limitless pool of energy and guts, would just do whatever he liked and would do everything just to try something new.

His latest stunt was climbing the tree at their backyard. Just as he was halfway through the tree, he tripped and fell down, scraping both of his knees and sent him crying out loud.

"No more climbing that tree," Neil said sternly while Reine was cleaning the wounds carefully.

Keith didn't say anything then, and it took only three days for the boy to repeat his latest stunt again. In the full view of both of his parents.

Neil, prompted by his protective nature, immediately took a step forward towards his son, but Reine held his arm tightly. "Don't," she said sternly.

"Are you crazy?!" he asked, "What if he falls down again?!"

Reine shrugged, "So be it,"

"What—"

"The most important thing is that he stands up again after he falls down. I don't mind having him falling down again and again as long as I know he will stand up again and again. And when he doesn't know how to pick himself up from the ground, that's where we come in and pick him up. That—I think—is what it means to be a parent."

"How do you…"

"It's also hard for me to see him fall, okay?" Reine admitted, "but I know he wants to reach the top, and I know he will. Have faith in him, Neil."

Reine then turned her head at Keith, and true enough, this time he managed to reach the top branch. He stood up and stretched his arm, "Look Dad, Mom! I am at the top of the world!" he cried out jubilantly before broke into laughter.

Looking at his son's laugh, Neil knew Reine had made her case.

He shouldn't worry too much.

Keith, after all, was a Forrester as well.

Keith Forrester, after all, was _their_ son.

Just like she said, he should put more faith into Keith.

Now Neil learned what it was to be a parent: it was about having faith in your child no matter how hard it was.

* * *

_Next chapter: Reine who loved her independence insisted to drive to the school on her own... up until something made her to rethink about it._

_Stay tuned to find out!_


	24. Her Broken Apology

_Hey guys, thanks for the views and reviews! I'm glad you are enjoying this story ^^_

_hannah (person): thanks for telling me your name! hahaha you can post your review with either name you are more comfortable with! and thanks for staying with this story hahahaha_

* * *

Reine took pride in her ability to drive; and needless to say, she loved driving fast.

Neil didn't mind Reine's tendency to drive fast, although if he was to speak honestly, it kind of worried him. Then again, Neil was well-known to be a worrywart.

Reine still drove on her own while she had been pregnant with Keith, and so when she discovered she had another pregnancy, there was no question asked: she would still drive on her own to the school. For Reine, since she was able to drive, asking Neil to drive her to the school would be a burden to him (although he never thought so) and it would be like clipping off the wings of a bird. She needed the feel of being independent, and Neil respected that.

That day, Neil had an emergency C-section in the hospital. Thankfully, he managed to tell Reine that he wouldn't be able to make it for dinner.

_"Are you going to stay there until late?"_ she asked.

"Yeah, probably I'll stay on call."

_"Do you bring your on-call bag?"_

"Uh, no,"

_"I knew it,"_ Reine sighed, _"I'll bring it, then."_

"Thanks, Reine."

* * *

It was a smooth operation with all the six puppies were delivered safely. All that was left was to monitor the condition of the mother overnight. Neil was just finishing up when suddenly someone burst into the prep room, "Dr Forrester!" he said, "Your wife is in the OR!"

"What?!"

Ignoring everything else, Neil dashed out from the prep room.

* * *

When he reached the OR in the general wing (the hospital was divided into the pets' wing and general wing), he saw a police was standing there waiting.

"I believe you are Dr Forrester?"

"What happened?!" he asked.

"Your wife's car was hit by a truck on the crossroad. Apparently the truck driver was driving under the influence and he didn't see the traffic light had turned red and that he was driving on the wrong lane." The police continued, "It was a head-on impact, and it seemed that your wife was driving at quite a high speed herself."

It felt like a thunderbolt in the middle of the day for Neil.

"The driver didn't survive the crash," the police added on, as if telling him that he shouldn't put his hopes too much on Reine.

"If there's anything about my wife you should know, it's that she's a fighter." Neil replied, trying to hold the tempest inside of him back. "She is a fighter…"

Everything was a blur for Neil; all he remembered was his own heart beating like crazy as he thought of Reine and their unborn baby inside of her. He repeated again and again that she was a fighter and that everything would be alright, but as the hour passed by his faith began to waver.

Neil even didn't know when Allen, Gwen, Rod and Yuri had come, but when the surgeon emerged from the OR, they were there with him crowding over him. Allen and Neil knew the surgeon; he was one of the senior surgeons in the Surgery Department.

"How is she?!" Neil asked.

"Forrester," he said in a low voice, "Your wife was in critical condition when she was admitted to ER. She wasn't even breathing."

There was a pause, and Neil held his breath.

"She is one hell of a fighter, Forrester," the surgeon said, "She pulled through the surgery."

Neil felt like a boulder was being lifted off his chest. Yet, what came after that put an even heavier boulder on him, "but she stopped breathing for too long… we couldn't save the baby. I'm sorry, Forrester."

That moment, everything stopped for Neil Forrester. He froze there, trying to process what had just being said.

_We couldn't save the baby._

Reine climbed into that car because she wanted to give him the bag he had left in the house… because he was delivering puppies.

He had never expected that it came at the cost of his own baby.

* * *

Neil sat next to her bed faithfully. As the night drew late, their friends decided to go home; Gwen told him that she would take Keith with her for the time being.

Reine was wrapped in bandages; her head, part of her face, her arms, and her legs. Neil couldn't help but to stare at her stomach; just a few hours ago, there was another life taking refuge in that small space of hers.

Lost in his own thoughts, Neil didn't notice Reine had opened her eyes. It was until Reine called for him that Neil was snapped out of his own thoughts, "Hey," he greeted her.

"I guess I came in the wrong way…" she said weakly.

Neil put his forehead against hers. "You sure did, Reine,"

"Sorry…"

It was then Reine put one of her hand over her stomach, and her instinct told her that there was something… off. "Neil…?"

"Yeah?"

"The baby…?" she asked, her face filled with fear. "I can't… I can't feel it."

Neil didn't know what to say to her. There was no right word in this; how could you tell a woman that she had just lost her baby?

Yet, Reine knew what his silence meant. She broke into a hysterical cry as her tears surged down her cheeks.

Neil immediately took her in his arms, holding her close as he ran through his fingers through her hairs carefully, "I'm sorry, Neil… I'm sorry…" she muttered between her tears. "I couldn't… keep our baby safe… I'm sorry…"

Her apology broke his heart.

He wanted to tell her that it was actually _his_ fault… his negligence to bring that damned bag that had caused everything.

Just like how Reine would take the blame upon herself; Neil, too, took the blame of this incident upon himself. Clearly, none of the Forresters thought it was an accident… an unfortunate accident.

That night, Reine kept apologizing to him and each time, it shattered his heart to an even smaller pieces until he was unsure whether he could gather back the pieces of his heart and put them together again. It was only when the first rays of sunlight managed to sneak through the window blinds that Reine's remaining energy was spent and she fell asleep. But, even then, she wept in her dreams and she muttered yet another apology.

When Reine sold whatever remained from her car—which she had bought from her own savings—there was no question asked.

There was no dispute when Neil offered to drop her off the school each morning.

And there was no talk about having another child between them.

* * *

_Next chapter: A gift came in the most unexpected time._

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^_


	25. Second Chance

_Halo~ it's me again with another chapter! Thanks for staying with me in this story! I hope you guys aren't bored, yet ^^_

* * *

It had been three years since Reine's accident—three years since they last thought of bearing another child. Reine fell to her lowest point at this time; she simply didn't smile at all, and at many times, she would retreat from any kind of social interaction and just shut herself out.

No one dared to talk about 'babies' with Reine. Even the frank Keith knew better than not to aggravate Reine's grief by bringing up anything around a 'younger sibling'.

It took Neil and Reine a night of heated debate of a matter that seemed so insignificant after they resolved it behind the locked door of their bedroom—and a pinch of forgetfulness—that one day, Neil was greeted with Reine sitting at the edge of their bed with her face almost as pale a winter snow.

"What happened?"

"It's… positive." Reine replied, "I went to the doctor today—"

"Wait, you're going to… what?!" Neil was suddenly alarmed, "What's going on?!"

"It's positive, Neil!" Reine repeated. "I'm pregnant, you dummy!"

It took some moments for Neil to actually register what was going on, and then he was overwhelmed with joy. Another child! Another lively being in the house—the diaper changing might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but the laugh! The smile! The way that child would call him 'Dad'!

Yet, his joy was cut short. Obviously, Reine wasn't thrilled with that idea, and they both knew why.

"What if… I couldn't take care of this baby, too?" she asked, her face grew even paler than ever.

Neil knelt down and took her hand, "Hey, listen," he said, "You are a great mom, we know you are. And besides, you're not taking care of this baby alone… I am here, you know? _We_ are going to take care of this baby, together—you hear me?"

Reine intertwined her fingers with his. Her voice was soft, almost trembling, "Together?"

"Yeah," he assured her as he squeezed her hand.

Then he saw it again: her genuine smile.

* * *

Reine was evidently more careful with her pregnancy this time round. She did split the household chores with Neil and Keith, and she didn't complain at all when Neil took any heavy load from her.

What surprised Neil even more was actually how Reine grew clingier to him more than ever—not that he minded it.

Reine could suddenly hug him out of nowhere and refused to let go until he coaxed her to, much like how he coaxed Keith out of his usual tantrum. And there were times she could suddenly burst into tears with no apparent reason (at least for Neil, there wasn't).

It felt so… un-Reine like.

Although Neil didn't find it hard to love this other side of Reine as well.

"Maybe this time it's a girl," Rod theorized during their usual session of guys' night out. "She sounds like Yuri when she's pregnant with Saffron. What do you think, Allen? Was Gwen that way, too?"

Allen shrugged, "She's always attached to me no matter what," he said with a proud grin across his face, "because I'm so amazing."

Neil glared at his brother-in-law, "That's very helpful, Allen."

"Anyway! We're going to the Flower Watching Festival tomorrow, right?" Rod asked in a light-hearted manner.

"Yeah, Reine's been excited about it since everything will turn pink tomorrow." Neil groaned, "Seriously, sometimes I still can't believe a woman like her likes pink…_ pink!_ It's like the most feminine colour existed in the world and Reine… feminine? She's more like a wild fire!"

"Wild fire…?" Allen asked with a suggestive glance, "So does she burn you out wild on bed?"

Rod burst out laughing while Neil's face turned bright red, "Don't start, Allen," Neil grunted.

Allen laughed, "Three more months, Neil," he said, "three more months and you guys can have your 'bed-sparring' again."

"That's… can we stop this?!"

Somehow, Allen and Rod always found a way to tease Neil.

* * *

The children were off enjoying themselves with little Rod and Keith having an endless chase of each other while the little Rosencrantzes played with the falling flower petals with Saffron Braxton.

"Boy, they sure know how to have fun!" Rod said.

"Yeah," Gwen replied with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, Reine stopped walking. Everyone turned around and found her panting slightly. "I don't wanna walk any further," she said.

"Do you want me to take you back to the car?" Neil asked.

She seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment before eventually saying, "But I wanna see the flowers!"

"Make your choice, Reine," Neil replied back.

Reine stared at Neil with her clear green eyes, "Carry me."

"WHAT?!"

She smiled innocently, "…please?"

"Hey, you want me to carry you… in front of everyone?"

Reine nodded and looked straight into his eyes, "…pleeeease?"

"Aw, c'mon Neil," Allen nudged him, "not everyday you can see Reine's pleading like a little girl."

"He's right!" Rod joined in, "Besides, who caused her to carry that heavy load in her tummy?"

Reine nodded enthusiastically at Rod's remarks.

"You…!" Neil grunted, "If you weren't carrying my baby…" his speech was halted when he saw Reine's expectant eyes on him. It looked so much like a little girl's. Neil swallowed down his saliva, "…I'd still carry you," he said in a defeated tone.

"Yeay!" Reine exclaimed in joy as Neil walked over to her and carried her in his arms. Bridal style.

Reine put her arms around Neil's neck and lolled her head on his shoulder as she hummed a cheerful tone. Years of karate training paid off in an unexpected way; Neil didn't find any difficulty in carrying Reine although practically he was carrying two people.

"Well, isn't it good, Neil? Your strong arms aren't only for punching people but carrying your wife as well?" Rod asked in a teasing manner.

This time, Yuri joined in, "Yeah, he's right."

"Shut up!"

"Aw~ look at his flushed cheek!" Gwen exclaimed, "Neil, you can be such a teenager, you know?"

Neil grunted. Why did everyone have their fun by picking on him?

* * *

When they finally reached their spot for watching the flowers, Gwen and Yuri laid down the mat as well as the food they had been packing. Neil was about to put Reine down when he realized that Reine had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Reine, we're already here," he said as he nudged her carefully.

She didn't budge; which was unusual since Reine was actually a light-sleeper. Neil felt slightly alarmed before he noticed that she was still breathing, _Thank God…_

"Reine's asleep?" Gwen asked.

"Like a log," he replied, "Geez, she was so excited about this last night."

"Maybe that tires her out," Yuri suggested, "just let her rest."

"Yeah…"

So Neil sat down very carefully then he laid her down with her head on his lap. He stroked her hair carefully, picking up the fallen cherry blossom petals that were stuck in her hair (although they looked so similar that Neil wouldn't notice it unless he touched it).

Years had passed between them yet Neil Forrester had never asked himself how he had fallen for Reine; for him, knowing that he loved her was enough.

She was his love, much like how Keith was his pride.

He then glanced at her swollen belly and ran his hand over it, _Stay safe in there, little one, _he said inwardly, _Mommy and Daddy are gonna protect you for sure._

They were given another chance, and Neil wouldn't let this one go away as well.

* * *

_Apparently little Kate is an "accident"... but there's always a silver lining in every hardship, isn't there?_

_Next chapter: little Kate is about to see the world! But Reine was struck by pneumonia again (remember the last arc in Colours of Our Hair)!_

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review!_

**_A/N: you know, actually I think it will be funny if the kid's personality mirrors Reine's during her respective pregnancies. Remember when she was pregnant with Keith she basically refused to let Neil helped her, remained independent and acted like she wasn't pregnant at all? Then poof, came Keith the other 'untamed fire'! So, yeah, in this pregnancy Reine's clingy attitude will somehow be passed down to little Kate (who, we all know, is sooo attached to her father and loved being carried by him). Let's just say I'm only preparing Neil of what is to come :p_**

**_On another note, I do think it's so fun to tease someone like Neil when he does something romantic like carrying Reine bridal style since it doesn't happen a lot (at least in public). I can imagine how red Neil's face is (he still does it out of love, anyway hahaha). What do you think?_**


	26. The One They Sought to Protect

_Guys, let me thank you for reading, reviewing, or put this story into your favorite and/or alert list. Thank you so ever much! ^^_

_And hannah: thanks so ever much for the compliment! Hahaha I'm glad you enjoy my stories and I'm always glad to read your reviews!_

_I hope you will enjoy this story to its last chapter!_

* * *

It started as a simple flu. Nothing more, nothing less. Everybody thought it would go away in three, maximum five days. Yet one week passed and Reine was still sneezing and coughing.

"Are you really fine?" Neil asked when Reine coughed yet again as she walked with him towards the front door to see him off.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replied, not too convincingly.

Suddenly, she covered her mouth with her hand and true enough, another bout of violet coughs followed soon after. However, this time, when she removed her hand, Neil could see clearly the red stain around her mouth.

Reine caught up soon after, as she saw her blood-stained palm.

She looked up in bewilderment. "…Neil…?"

* * *

Pneumonia.

That was what the doctor said about Reine's condition. And once he found out that she had had another pneumonia before, and she had a history of miscarriage as well, this was what followed:

"I think it's too dangerous to carry on with this pregnancy."

"Are you crazy?!" was Reine's immediate reaction, her voice muffled by the oxygen mask that was put on to maintain a regular oxygen flow to the baby.

"Mrs Forrester, with a medical record like yours, I think it is more like an educated opinion."

"Are you telling me to… kill another of my baby?" she asked, her voice strained. "It's only two more months…"

"I'm saying that the delivery would be too risky," the doctor replied. "With your weakened condition, we can't tell whether… the delivery process will be safe for you."

Neil watched the exchange with mixed feelings. To put it very bluntly; the doctor was asking them to choose between Reine and the baby.

Say, how do you make such a choice?

After the doctor left the two of them in the room, Neil moved towards Reine's bedside and sat there. "Rest, Reine," he told her. "Just… rest."

Reine put her hand over his, "Anything you want to tell me?"

Silence. Then Neil's strained voice came out as he squeezed her hand, "I can't choose between the two of you…"

"You don't have to choose," she replied resolutely, despite her weak voice. "I've had a good life… a good thirty-three years."

He held his breath as he knew where she was driving at.

"I want this baby to have it, too—a good life… the feeling of being loved by you, by Keith, and by everyone else. This baby deserves it, Neil." She took in a deep breath and said, "Besides, I'm not going to give up another of my baby. You know I won't."

A mixture of sadness, anger, frustration, and helplessness built up in Neil and it transformed into tears that he couldn't hold back.

He promised her that they would protect this baby _together_, but now the only thing he could do was watching her suffering _alone_. Why…? Why?!

There were so many words in his head, pounding, trying to get on his tongue. But, he was never a man of words.

In the end, he wept in silence, and Reine carefully wiped the tears away, with a smile never leaving her face.

What if it would be the last time he saw her smile?

* * *

When the contraction happened, it was three weeks earlier than it supposed to be, and Reine was barely able to stand on her own. It was as if her body, knowing her wishes, wanted to push the baby out before she couldn't do it anymore.

The doctors told Neil, the risk of having Reine even in a merely general anesthesia might be too high for the baby—considering how many chemicals they had used to support her—while a normal delivery would be nearly impossible for Reine since she couldn't breathe properly.

They gave the choice to Reine, who daringly decided to go with a normal delivery. Therefore, as a safety precaution, Reine would still wear the oxygen mask and if anything happened, they would go through with the operation.

Just like how it had been with Keith's delivery, Neil went into the delivery room, holding her hand and supporting her back. He still remembered the feel of holding on her back when she was pushing Keith, and how much strength she had in her then.

It was easy to tell how much weaker she was this time round.

Still, Reine wouldn't be Reine if it weren't for her fighting spirit. She pushed the baby out with all her might, putting everything she had on the line as she squeezed his hand tight.

"I can already see the baby's head! You can do it!" the doctor encouraged.

Reine was about to take in another breath for another push, but suddenly her body dropped completely on his arm and her eyes closed.

"Reine!" Neil yelled.

"Doctor, she lost consciousness!" a nurse exclaimed.

"Prepare the OR," the doctor instructed. "We're going to have an emergency C-section."

Everything happened in a flash. Before he knew it, he was already in an operation room, with Reine on the table. He wanted to stay there until everything was done, but when he saw the surgeon took the scalpel and made the incision across her lower belly, he lost the strength in his legs. Before he dropped right there, he decided to go out from the room.

Allen and Gwen were waiting in front of the operation room. As soon as they saw him, Gwen bolted up and walked over to her brother-in-law. "How is it?!"

"They… they cut her." Neil stammered, before he groaned in pain as if he was the one being cut.

"It isn't like you haven't had performed a C-section yourself." Allen commented.

"Reine is not a dog!" Neil retorted.

"I mean… you know what they are actually doing on her." Allen corrected himself. "It's going to be all right, Neil."

Despite that, Neil was still pacing up and down in front of the door of the operation room. When the surgeon came out, he immediately bolted towards him. "How was it?" he asked.

"It's a girl, Forrester," he replied with a smile. "She was rather weak, so we put her in the incubator. But don't worry, your baby should be fine."

"How about Reine?"

"She is fine as well. She pulled through it."

* * *

Neil walked down on the babies' room, looking for his little girl. Like her mother, she wasn't hard to find, since she was the only baby with a thin layer of pink on the top of her head. Neil chuckled; her nose, her cheeks, her mouth… she looked just like a mini Reine.

He then saw the name card in front of the incubator. It was simply written 'Forrester'. Right, they hadn't thought of a name for her.

He then stared at the tiny baby, sleeping so peacefully despite the cords that were attached to her. Neil then put his arms into the incubator slowly and he felt the soft skin of the baby against his finger.

Then, he saw her arm moved towards his finger and gripped it in her tiny hand. The moment he felt her touch, something inside him stirred up. This was what they sought to protect… this tiny life.

Their daughter.

That moment, something struck his mind as if the Muse had just visited him. He smiled, "Hey, little one…" he said, "I thought of a good name for you, but let's wait for Mommy to wake up, okay?"

* * *

Sure enough, the first thing Reine asked for when she woke up was the baby. Once she was brought over, Reine cradled the little girl in her arms, and she smiled. "She looks just like you," Neil commented.

"I guess so,"

"When you were asleep, I thought of a name." Neil admitted.

Reine's eyes lit up, "And?"

"Catherine," he replied, "Catherine Lyla Forrester."

Reine broke into a satisfied smile, "That's beautiful,"

"We can call her little Kate."

"I like it," Reine said, "It kind of rhymes with Keith."

That's when the door was opened and Allen and Gwen entered, together with Keith who had been staying over at their place for the last few days since Neil spent his nights in the hospital.

"Dad! Mom!" he greeted excitedly, and his eyes fell on the tiny creature in his mother's arm. "Is that…?"

"She is your sister, Keith," Reine said as she lowered her arms, so that Keith could see Kate's face, "say hi to little Kate."

It was then Kate opened her eyes, and revealed the pair of violet irises that even Neil hadn't been aware of. "Oh, look! She has your eyes!"

Neil then met his daughter's innocent gaze, and then she broke into a soft giggle. "Aw~ look at that!" Gwen cooed. "Seems like she loves Daddy so much!"

* * *

_Next Chapter: Years flew by, and an unexpected blow came to hit Neil._

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review, ok?_


	27. The Void

_Hi! Here is another chapter from me!_

_Mew-Star-Mew: by now, if I remember correctly, the mother has to stay for one or two days after the C-section. Well, obviously I haven't gone through one, so I only based it from stories from my older cousins hahahaha_

* * *

At first, it was a simple headache. Neil thought nothing about it, so he simply took some aspirin to alleviate it. He had never thought of it more than a simple headache.

Then things began to blur away; he forgot where he had put his keys, or where he should be heading for his next shift… things that he should be able to recall in an instant.

Even the latest trip with the Rosencrantzes and Braxtons was a blur; he could vaguely remember how little Kate had grown attached to Rod's eldest son, little Rod, so much that Reine had commented something about them ending up together.

Other than that, everything was almost wiped out from his head. It was like a large blot of ink on a page of a book, leaving unintelligible fragments behind.

He was given the answer when he went for his usual check-up.

"Tumour?" he repeated.

"Yes," Will replied. "It's not big, but it's malignant."

Maybe he shouldn't have been too surprised about it. His mother, after all, passed away because of brain tumour as well.

He then fell into a deep pool of thoughts and he could see Reine—she seemed to be so distant these past few years and his bouts of headaches only seemed to worsen it—then Keith, his pride and Kate, his joy. Neil wasn't really listening to what Will had to say about treatments plan whatsoever.

"…Neil?"

Will's soft voice guided him back to the present. "Yeah?"

"You should tell Reine,"

"No." He replied almost immediately. "She shouldn't know about this."

"She is your wife, Neil." Will replied, "She has the right to know."

Neil said nothing.

* * *

That day, he signed out later than usual and he didn't immediately head back home. Instead, he went to the church where he had married Reine more than a decade ago. He sat on the first row, simply staring at the altar.

There, he had promised her he wouldn't forget his love for her.

But what if he couldn't keep even this simple promise? What if that ink decided to blot out the memory of his love of her as well?

That time, Neil didn't realize that what was stored in his heart was completely different with what was stored in his head.

And, of course, his love was stored not in his head… but his heart.

* * *

The clock almost struck midnight by the time he finally reached home. Neil carefully walked towards Keith's bedroom; he was asleep. Neil pulled a nearby chair and sat down there, looking at his son.

Everyone told him—and he still remembered—that Keith had grown to be more and more like him.

But Neil knew better than anyone else that inside, Keith was the reminiscent of his mother.

That was why Neil knew even if he left, Keith would be able to stand up again and pick himself up no matter how devastated he might be. He, after all, was Reine's son.

After a few minutes watching his son peacefully sleeping, Neil kissed Keith's forehead and moved to the next room: Kate's. As compared to his brother, she was blessed with a more vivid imagination and delicate sentiments. Although she was trained in basic karate, music caught her interest more, so now she began plucking his old guitar strings. And sometimes, she talked in her sleep (which, unbeknownst to him, was inherited from him).

This night, too, she talked in her sleep. She stirred around, clutching her bolster tightly against her chest (another habit she inherited from him) and called out, "…rainbow…"

Neil chuckled, wondering what kind of dream she was having right now.

"Daddy…"

Neil stood silent as he heard her calling out for him. Was she dreaming of him?

He ran through his hand over her head, burying it into the messy pink hair that was sprawled across her pillow. Like Reine, she sported long hair that almost covered her entire back. The more he looked at Kate, the more he thought of Reine.

Reine. He suddenly thought of her.

He then moved on to his own bedroom. The lamp on the nightstand was still on, but Reine was already asleep with a book in her hand. She must've been waiting for him.

Neil gingerly took the book from her hand. With her, Neil had to be careful. A slight touch might wake her up if she wasn't in a deep enough sleep. True enough, suddenly a pair of green eyes were staring at him, but Neil knew better that Reine was still half-asleep. She then turned around and had her back facing him without saying anything else.

Neil hadn't realized that as his tumour took over his memory slowly like a plague, he had inadvertently distanced himself from everyone—especially Reine. What he knew was that Reine gradually grew cold towards him. At first, it hurt him slightly, although he didn't voice it out due to his towering pride. However, looking at how things were going, maybe this was for the best.

That was the first time Neil thought of divorcing her. However, to make things easier on her…maybe it would be better if he provoked her to be the one asking for it. He knew it would be easy, especially if she didn't know about his tumour.

A part of him knew it was cruel, using her feelings against her own.

Yet, he would rather let her go instead of tying her down with a dying man.

He ran through his hand on her hair, carefully not to wake her up again yet enough to let his skin felt the feeling of touching her. He then bent down and kissed the crown of her head, "I'm sorry, Reine…" he whispered. "I love you."

If only Reine Forrester had heard it, she wouldn't have demanded for what she was going to.

* * *

Everything then blurred away. Neil found himself standing in a vast room, playing the story of his life all over the place on numerous screens around him. He looked around in a mixture of amusement and awe.

Suddenly, all the screens turned black, leaving him alone in the dark pitch room. He was stunned for a moment, before he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

Then, he saw her again after more than twenty years.

She walked towards him, "Neil…" she called.

Neil studied the figure in front of him. He knew who she was: her brunette hair, her gentle smile…

And her violet eyes.

Her blood that ran through his veins called out for her.

"Mother…" he muttered.

His mother stretched out her hand towards him, as if asking him to take it.

* * *

Reine sat down on one of the chairs in front of the operation room. This would be the first time with her waiting and him being inside the room instead of the other way round. Keith and Kate were sleeping on her lap, sharing it as their pillow.

Rod walked towards her with two cups of hot coffee. He offered one of them to her, "Here,"

Reine took the cup from him, "Oh, thanks."

The cup slipped from her hand, and fell towards the ground. The black, thick liquid was spilled on the floor. "Oh!" they both exclaimed. "I'm sorry!" Reine then said.

"No, no, it's okay," Rod replied quickly, "you stay, I'll clear this… Reine…?"

It was then she realized that a stream of tears was falling down to her cheek.

Suddenly Reine felt the black hole in her chest. Like a void. Like something precious in her heart was being snatched away form her.

* * *

"Blood pressure is dropping!"

"Pulse is dropping!"

The loud alarm resounded in the heated operation room. The nurse then called out, "Doctor, he's flat-lining!"

* * *

_A flat line._

_A void._

_Will Neil take his mother's hand?_

_Thanks for reading! Please rate and review ^^_


	28. The Vow

_Hey guys, thanks for the overwhelming response ^^ I hope this chapter answers your questions._

_kinicia: nope, Neil's mother didn't physically appear. But there was a brief mention about her in the first chapter. ^^_

* * *

As the final touch, she fastened the gorgeously modest tiara on the young pinkette's head, using it to secure the veil, before putting a part of the fabric before her face.

"And… perfect," Reine commented. "You look stunning, dear,"

Kate blushed. "You think so?"

Reine walked over to face her daughter and offered her an honest, maternal smile. "Why would I lie?"

"Your mother is right, little Kate," Yuri added on as she took in the sight of what would be her masterpiece.

Kate smiled bashfully.

At the end of this day, Catherine Forrester would transform into Mrs Roderick Braxton Jr.

It was funny, having seen them growing together… and somewhere along the way, they discovered that feeling for each other. Although little Rod was ten years older than Kate, Reine wouldn't have it another way. Kate had picked her choice, and Reine knew more than enough that little Rod had grown into a good man.

Like her mother before her, that was all she asked of her daughter's choice.

Reine remembered that among many things, Neil had told her he wanted to walk Kate down the aisle. That was why he eventually decided to go through with the surgery.

"Your father would be happy to see you," she commented.

"He would?"

Reine nodded in assurance.

That was when the door to the bride's preparation room was opened. The three of them turned around and they smiled slightly when they noticed who was coming in.

Neil paused for a moment when he saw his little girl finally in her wedding dress. He cleared his throat. "It's time,"

"How do you think I look, Daddy?" she asked as she stood up and twirled slightly, showing Neil the back of her dress.

"You look amazing, little Kate,"

Although now Kate Forrester was twenty-six, she would always be little Kate to those closest to her. Just like how little Rod be little Rod although now he was in his late thirties. And neither of them seemed to be bothered by having the prefix 'little' before their name, with Kate even saying that it was a cute way of matching their names together.

"Almost like your mother."

Everyone was stunned at his subsequent comment.

After the operation that had successfully removed his tumour, Neil lost all of his memories. His earliest memory would be the mysterious encounter with his mother; and when he was about to take her hand, there was a voice calling out to him and telling him to wake up.

When he opened his eyes, the green-eyed and pink-haired woman was the first one he saw, and when she called his name, he knew she was the one calling out to him earlier as well.

One look and he could tell although he didn't know her name, she was important to him. In that instant, although it seemed to be unbelievable, he knew he loved her.

"Well, then we'll be off." Yuri said, breaking the heavy silence. "We'll see you from the pews."

"Okay," Kate replied.

Reine and Yuri walked towards their seats, which were placed across each other on the first row of the pews, being the mothers of the couple. As Reine sat down, she reminisced of how the past twenty years had been.

Neil remembered nothing, not even his name. As his golden hair—now gray—grew back, they grew back together as well. She helped Neil to relearn the ropes: the memories stored in his muscles helped him to regain his physical fitness of a coach and the dexterity as a veterinary surgeon. It took years before Neil went back to the life he had abandoned due to his illness.

Yet, his memories before the operation never returned.

Sometimes he would ask her about their past, and every time, she would answer. However, it never went beyond that; nothing was triggered. But, Reine didn't mind. Although all the memories, the bittersweet tokens of their journey, now belonged only to her, she wouldn't have it another way.

Having Neil here was good enough for her.

Besides, Neil won his bet: he got to see everything he wanted to see. He watched his children grew up into adults: their college days, their love lives, their settling into their 20s…

And now, he got to do what he said to be a duty of a father: walking his daughter down the aisle. Coincidentally, this was the very same aisle where Jack had walked Reine down decades ago before handing her over to Neil.

Reine looked up and she saw her soon-son-in-law-to-be standing nervously before the altar with Keith as his best man. Little Rod grew to be a slightly different kind of man than his father who was now watching with the same grin on his face from the pew: little Rod was more restrained in his passion and shyer in nature than his father. That led Rod commented that his son looked more like Neil than himself, which Reine couldn't fully disagree.

The entrance song was played and everyone stood up to greet the bride and her father. Kate slightly bowed her head as she walked, and when she was getting nearer, Reine could see she was trying to hold back her tears.

Reine held back her own tears as her feelings began to overwhelm her. After all, Kate was her daughter.

Neil said nothing when he handed his daughter over to little Rod and walked towards his place, next to Reine. And before they knew it, it was the time for vow exchange.

Keith handed the ring over to the groom. Little Rod eyed the ring carefully in his hand before he faced Kate. "Actually, just before this your father went over to me." He began, much to Kate's surprise. "I was trying to memorize the vow, you see…"

He turned the ring in his hand as he spoke. "He told me something that made me rethink this whole thing about us…"

Everyone held his or her breath, waiting for him to proceed. "He told me… that I shouldn't have been too bothered with memorizing my vow."

"…because I might lose what I keep in my head," he continued, "so I should give you something I will never lose. Something that I keep in my heart."

Little Rod then took her hand and slid the ring to her finger, "So, with this ring, I promise I will never forget my love for you. And with that, I will give you the best of me." He took in a deep breath as the ring settled around her finger. "That is all I can offer you, little Kate."

Upon hearing little Rod's vow, Rod and Yuri glanced across the pew at Neil, so did Allen and Gwen who sat directly behind them. Reine, too, couldn't hold back the temptation to see whether Neil remembered the exchange.

They saw nothing, though.

Meanwhile, Kate was obviously taken aback by the turn of events. Then she giggled in her childlike way. "That's good enough for me, Rod," she assured him, just like how her mother did towards her father decades ago.

She then took the remaining ring in the box and slid it to where it belonged as she told him of her own promise.

A promise to keep her faith in him.

A promise to always love him.

As the newlywed sealed their vow with a kiss, the bells were rung, marking their new beginning as husband and wife.

* * *

Everyone had gone from the church, and little Rod and Kate went to the hotel where they would rest before holding the reception, but Neil was nowhere to be found.

Reine went back inside the church and she found him standing alone before the altar. She walked down the aisle towards him, "…Neil?"

He turned around, slightly surprised at the sight of his wife, "Reine?"

"We should be going," she told him with a smile.

"I remember…"

Her heart skipped a beat, "…Yes?"

"You… you were laughing at me before this altar, because I had forgotten my vows," he looked away, trying to gather the pieces that came back into his head, "then I told you… although I forgot the vow, I wouldn't forget that I love you."

A tear escaped her eye. "Yes, you did,"

Neil turned at her. "Then you told me… it was good enough as a vow."

"Yes, I did."

Neil held her hand, halting her from wiping her tears away. Then he smiled, "You've always been a crybaby, aren't you?" he asked in a whisper before eventually wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close.

"I've never forgotten I love you, Reine," he said, "Not even when I lost everything else."

"I know…" she replied, "and for that… thank you. Thank you for keeping your vow…"

Neil smiled as he kissed her forehead. "My crybaby…" he murmured adoringly as he took in the scent of cherry blossom that he was always familiar with.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Neil."

FIN


	29. Afterword

Hey guys, so we have come to this... another end of a story.

I shall confess: this story is actually my post-breakup story :p

My breakup had me realized that sometimes, no matter how hopeful the start was, a relationship would reach its bottom point at some point in time. Then, it's our choice whether we want to work it out or not.

No relationship is always bed of roses. Even if it is, roses have thorns.

So... that's how When The Colours Fade is conceived.

And by ending this story with yet another wedding, I want to tell you guys (and myself too, maybe) that this is just a cycle of life. With an end, there is a new beginning. ^^

With that said, thank you very very much for reading this story. Really. ^^

Thank you for those who have put this story in their alert and/or favourite tab:

AkikazeRyo-Rain55

Karisma Jestler

KyraJane12

Mew-Star-Mew

Psyff101

Sirenightsparrow

TheNinjaKitty13

engie115

hanamiyuki (can't put the dot, sorry)

jigokunooujo

mcnannerson

misty350

...those who has reviewed the story:

AkikazeRyo-Rain55

Karisma Jestler

Mew-Star-Mew

Psyff101

Sirenightsparrow

TheNinjaKitty13

guest

kinicia

hannah

Chris Shino

jociehmlover13

And of course to all of the other readers who are keeping up with me~

Thank you so much guys!

I hope to see you guys enjoying my other stories~

(the currently ongoing in Harvest Moon fandom would be Dragon's Tear and I'm also trying my hand on Bleach fandom now)

See you guys there in another stories! ^^

With lotsa love,

imaginebelieve


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